All That We Are
by Kiyumie
Summary: In a world overrun by monsters, undead or otherwise, where do we stand? Stranded on a dead floating rock in space, barely hanging on by a thread, that's all that we are. (SYOC CLOSED)
1. OC Form

Welp I finally decided to write my own fanfic for HOTD. This will be my first HOTD work but I've done a few pieces for other things like Fallout before but never uploaded them.

The story takes place in a fictional American suburban town called Comet in California close to Los Angeles. International OCs will be accepted if it's explained what they're doing there.

I'll constantly collect OCs and will probably not close SYOC until the end of the story but obviously if they're submitted like 15 chapters in, try to make them so that it'd make sense why they weren't introduced earlier. I'll try to feature every character I get at least once but in the extreme case that for example I get 50 or so OCs (Which is NEVER gonna happen) I might have to pull a JK Rowling and mass kill off a lot of characters. That being said, I'm gonna put it across here that no OC is safe and may be killed off at any time. This includes my own OC and I will kill her off if I feel the story goes that way. Anyway here are some guidelines for submitting your OC:

PM them to me with title "All That We Are: OC's Name"

I understand that it might be hard to fit an OC into 8000 characters so if you want, you can write it in a doc file and upload it to drop box or mediafire or wherever you wanna upload it to and send me the download link. Just remember to break up the link so the site doesn't remove it. And please for the love of god, no troll links.

Strictly no Gary or Mary Sues, every character has to have both strengths and faults in their personalities and abilities.

Try to be as original as you can but you can submit OCs that you've either used or submitted for other fanfics.

The form will be posted on my profile so you can copy and paste it

If you want, you can add descriptions of how your character will progress, appearance, personality or otherwise through the story, otherwise I'll just develop them on my own

Lastly HAVE FUN! I'm getting free slave labor to come up with characters for me (although technically that's exactly what I'm doing, oh well) Creating characters has to be an enjoyable experience otherwise the characters won't turn out good either! So this is the most important rule of all

**General:**

**Name** –

**Nicknames** –

**Gender-**

**Age- **Any age is accepted but teenagers and young adults are preferred

**Grade/Job-**

**Sexuality** –

**Clubs/Activities** –

**Nationality** –

**Ethnicity** –

**Appearance** – Please include general details like hair color, height, build etc, enough that I can form a clear image of the character. Other then that, go wild Oh yeah, urm although not part of appearance, I'd appreciate if you could describe their voice to me as well

**Outfits-**

Casualwear- You may include a maximum of 5 different outfits for casual, up to you

Sleepwear-

Winterwear-

**Advantages** – Non-Combat stuff, general advantages like good leadership or good at socializing

**Disadvantages** – Likewise but can include physical disabilities as long as they'd affect daily life

**Hobbies **-

**Likes** – General stuff

**Dislikes** – Likewise

**Favorite Food**-

**Least Favorite Food**-

**Favorite Bands-**

**Personality** –

**Habits/Quirks **– Biting fingernails, compulsive sexual drive, that kind of stuff

**History** – The more detailed the better especially if a traumatic experience is concerned

**Relationships** – Try to keep them to close friends and family. If you submit multiple OCs you may include their relationships with each other.

"**Type"-** What kind of character would you ship your OC with? If you don't want any pairing, you may also keep them single

**Theme songs(Completely Optional)-**

**Combat:**

**Combat "Class": **Not really a strict class but what you feel could best describe your OCs combat style. Choose from Berserker, Assassin, Medic, Sniper, Scout, Leader, Jack of All Trades(Can't be good at everything, just that they can be bad at nothing or very few things), Mascot (Still needs to have weapons, just doesn't have to use them well), Support (Covering fire, brings spare ammunition, etc)

**Weapons** – Please include at least a melee, a ranged weapon (Doesn't have to be a firearm, as long as it's ranged) and if they're in Kaede's school, a weapon that they use while in school. Minimum of 3 weapons (Keep it reasonable so your character isn't going to be running around with like 4 miniguns, 2 rocket launchers and a chainsaw)

**Additional Gear**- (Stuff like the kind of backpacks they have, bandoliers, med kits, nightvision goggles, that kind of stuff)

**Fighting Style**-

**Strengths**- At least 4

**Weaknesses**- Physical disabilities that were mentioned above may be repeated here. At least 4 as well.

**Relationship with Kaede: **

**Association- **Acquaintance, Friend, Classmate, Schoolmate, Clubmate, The house gardener, Distant Cousin, as long as they know Kaede in some way, it goes here

**Opinion on Kaede's initial personality-**

**Opinion on Kaede if she snaps-**

**MY OC:**

**General:**

**Name** – Kaede Elise Hadley

**Nicknames** – Kae

**Gender- **Female

**Age-** 16

**Grade/Job-** High School Sophomore

**Sexuality** – Bisexual

**Clubs/Activities** –Kendo, Music

**Nationality** – American

**Ethnicity** – Caucasian

**Appearance** – Kaede has brown black hair with cyan highlights and magenta bangs. When let down, her hair falls to her upper back but she usually has it tied up in a high side ponytail on the left of her head. She has long "feelers" that fall to her chin and frame her face. Her bangs are extremely long and cover most of the right of her face falling to her cheek and covering her right eye. This covers a long scar on the eye as well as the eye itself which is blinded and completely white. Her remaining left eye is almond-shaped and hazel in color but when she is agitated, gains a slight reddish hue. She stands at 5'2 and weighs 105 lbs with a thin frame but she looks taller than she is from a distance because she has long legs. She has small A-cups and she lacks any significant curves on her body making her look vaguely childlike. Her lips and mouth are relatively small but she has a toothy smile which reveal her very obvious and sharp canine teeth which she has 2 pairs of. Her face has relatively delicate She has a pale but healthy complexion. She has numerous scars on her whole body and one smaller one on her cheek in addition to the large one over her right eye from years of domestic abuse. She has a wide vocal range and usually speaks in a gentle and soft voice but is entirely able to drop to a husky or even sadistic tone.

**Outfits-**

Casualwear-

Black T-shirt with a design of a steampunk cat on the front, black and purple striped armwarmers, dark blue ripped jeans, black combat boots

Off-shoulder grey sweater, acid faded light blue jeans, grey sneakers

Pull-on black hoodie that reads "Ask me about my zombie plan", Denim hotpants, black leggings, black high-cut sneakers with white splatter designs.

Denim vest, baby pink t-shirt, brown combat pants, black combat boots

Sleepwear- Oversized t-shirt of any color, sports shorts of any color

Winterwear- White dress coat, white "RWBY" beanie, ice blue skinny jeans, black knee high boots

**Advantages** –

-High tolerance for people

-Is sensitive to others emotions, at least for serious stuff

-Very likeable

-Very creative

-Very compassionate and kind, especially to animals

-Overly innocent

**Disadvantages** –

-Airheaded

-Very often says things without thinking although never offensive, mostly things that make you go wtf

-Somewhat awkward

-Intense fear of creepy crawlies

-Fear of heights

-Blind in one eye

**Hobbies **– Watching anime and reading manga (Hardcore weeabo), MMORPGs, working part time at a local game store, watching horror films, reading, singing, playing electric guitar, sketching, playing with animals at the animal shelter, Kendo

**Likes** – Furry animals, loyal people, people who stand up for others, Japanese culture, skating, B-grade monster movies

**Dislikes** – Dishonesty, anything with more than 4 legs, Justin Bieber, People asking her about her scars, animal abuse, bullies, discrimination, judgmental people

**Favorite Food**- Unagi (Japanese grilled eel)

**Least Favorite Food**- Asparagus but she hates all vegetables

**Favorite Bands/Musicians- **All Time Low, One OK Rock, Houkago Tea Time, Girls Dead Monster, EGOIST, Celldwellar, Blue Stahli, Skillet, Yellowcard, Paramore

**Personality** – Kaede is airheaded and in many ways childlike in her thinking. She has a very pleasant outlook on life and is very innocent, and sees many things in black and white. She does not judge anyone and believes everyone to be equal and that there is good in anyone. She is kind to everyone and loyal to those she cares about but while she is hard to anger, she is not entirely saintly and if she does get angry, it's like a nuclear meltdown and she will say things that are deliberately hurtful and cruel. This is the only sign of her true nature that is unknown even to her buried under hypnosis and psychiatric help. While I wouldn't exactly consider it a split personality, it is who she used to be before she was forced to forget it through hypnosis. This other side of her is a completely different person, bitter and hateful of everything, cruel, sadistic and most definitely insane, entirely capable of murder with a crazy smile on her face(Think evil Shiro from Deadman Wonderland). Should she ever regain her real memories through another significantly traumatic experience, both personalities would merge into a single consciousness. Imagine an Angel and a Demon having to share a single body and a single personality. This new her would be capable of both kindness and extreme cruelty and overall extremely unstable.

**Habits/Quirks **– Referring to herself in third-person, biting a lip when she feels pressured, playing with her food

**History** – Kaede's father was a marine officer who served in Afghanistan and her mother is a lawyer. She had a sister named Kira 2 years younger than her. Unfortunately, her father was killed in action when Kaede was a little girl and her mother cared for the two girls alone until Kaede was 10. She then got together with another man who moved in with the family. This man acted like a caring father and kind soul when in front of Kaede's mother as she was relatively rich and supported all of them. However, as she was seldom home and always busy at work, her children were left alone with their stepfather at home. The kind façade was dropped and he proved to be a sick and sadistic man who constantly abused and sexually assaulted the two girls. He threatened that if they told on him, he'd murder their entire family including their mother and forced them to hide the wounds and scars he'd inflicted with long sleeved clothing. Kaede tried her best to protect her sister and took the brunt of most of the abuse but her stepfather never went as far as committed rape. However, this changed when Kaede was 13 and he was especially drunk one night and her mother was out. He ordered Kaede to take off her clothes which she refused after which he slapped her hard enough that she was barely conscious and kicked her in the stomach, shouting insults at her. He then proceeded to rip off her clothes and started sexually assaulting her as she was helpless and unable to move. Her sister witnessed it and for once, tried to defend her older sister instead but their stepfather's wrath was diverted to her and as she meekly punched at his back, he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into a wall. Kaede was forced to watch helplessly as her younger sister whom she loved more than anything was raped and murdered. In the middle of the act, at the sight of her sister's lifeless eyes, she finally snapped, every drop of hatred taking over and she lost a large portion of her sanity. As she regained her strength, she silently grabbed a letter opener and stabbed her stepfather right in the spine, instantly paralyzing his lower body. Before he could react, she proceeded to gouge his eyes out and inflicted cuts all over his body like those she'd received and castrated him all the while laughing as he screamed. When her mother arrived home, she found the stepfather with his throat slit and Kaede cradling her sister's corpse and humming a lullaby with a smile on her face. Finally seeing the scars on her children's bodies let her put the story together and she used her connections and Kaede's injuries to rule a case of self-defense and they moved to Comet where Kaede continued schooling, her past buried. She hired many psychologists to make Kaede forget her past through drugs and hypnosis and brainwashed Kaede into becoming sane again, albeit with a childlike personality. For now.

**Relationships** –

Louise Parker (Mother)-39-Lawyer-Living

Kira Elaine Hadley (Younger Sister) -(A.O.D)11-Elementary School Student-Deceased

Eric Hadley (Father)-(A.O.D) 28- US Marine- Deceased

Derrick Landstrum (Stepfather)-(A.O.D)37- Unemployed- Deceased

Alicia Taylor (Best Friend)-16-High School Student- Living

"**Type"-** None, for her, if it happens, it happens

**Theme songs(Completely Optional)- **

Animal I have become by Three Days Grace

Red Like Roses Part 2 – RWBY Soundtrack

**Combat:**

**Combat "Class": **Assassin

**Weapons** – Wooden kendo bokken(training katana) in school, antique longsword, bowie knife, butterfly knife, Dual MP5K submachine guns, tazer

**Additional Gear**- Messenger bag, large camping rucksack when carrying supplies from scavenging and during travel, sheath for her sword that she wears on her back, sheath bowie knife on her back waist right above her butt, shoulder slings for both her submachine guns and a pocket flashlight

**Fighting Style**-Kaede's fighting style focuses on her speed and agility as well as close quarters combat. She uses her stealthy abilities to swiftly and quietly move among her enemies and she fights by darting quickly between enemies and using them for cover. Her small frame coupled with both her speed and the disorientation of being in the middle of all her enemies make her incredibly hard to hit and she's almost a ghost. She lacks upper body strength and thus when she strikes, she always uses her bodies momentum to power herself. Therefore she is almost always constantly moving to keep her momentum going. She is somewhat lacking in her aim at longer distances due to her blind eye and she counteracts this by using her firearms as melee weapons and fires them in close quarters. She uses her skill with blades to maximum effect, aiming mostly for either the head(throats in the case of human targets) or the much harder to dodge ankles to outright kill or cripple her enemies in one efficient strike.

**Strengths**-

-Superb Speed and Agility, near ghostlike when used in her fighting style

-Adept in assessing her situation and forming a battle approach on the fly

-Extremely adaptable

-Talented and artful skill in using bladed weapons, she knows exactly where to cut

**Weaknesses**-

-Poor endurance and upper body strength, she can't sustain multiple hits and her blows are not powerful if she cant get moving

-Her fighting style is only suitable for fighting groups as single targets can focus on her and are much less likely to be disorientated. She has much difficulty in 1 on 1 fights if the opponent is as skilled as or more skilled than her

-Trouble with teamwork when fighting

-She loses control when she lets her bloodlust fuel her for too long becoming a loose cannon


	2. Prologue

**Prologue**

_You know I'm here. You know what's inside you. An illusion is all that you are. The day that I am me again draws closer and closer._

Gasping for breath, Kaede bolted upright, disorientated and panicky but most definitely awake. She buried her face in her hands and groaned. Pulling herself out of bed, she grabbed the small bottle of pills from her bedside table and walked to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water and downed two pills. Leaning on the refrigerator door, she felt the medicine start to take effect and her heart rate slowed as she grew calmer.

Her dreams were getting worse and more frequent. Before, they'd been far and in between and Kaede had written them off as just memories of the crash taking form. There was never anything to see, just complete blackness and a soft whisper. Recently, the medicine was becoming less effective and she was having the dream every other day, the voice growing louder and clearer each time. She closed her eyes, relishing the relief as the pounding in her head subsided.

Sirens outside interrupted her serenity. Startled, she moved to the window over the sink and in the darkness, she made out the red and blue flashing lights of emergency vehicles racing down the main street towards the outskirts of town. She absently wondered what that was all about before deciding to try and get some sleep for school the next day, returning to her bed and succumbing to darkness.


	3. Chapter 1: Calm Before Storm

**Note:** Thank you everyone for sending in your OCs! Some of them may appear later rather than sooner but I assure you everyone will at least get some screen time! I'm still taking in OCs and will probably continue to for quite a while until I feel like I have too many to develop in 1 story so keep sending em in! On another note though, I've received mostly male characters and only one female as well as just about everyone being a scout so I'd appreciate if I could get more gals as well as other classes as well :) Also, if you want, you can submit OC's to be villains as well, just let me know in the suggestions :D

_This just in. Early reports have stated that similar incidents of crowd violence have broken out in several population centers in the country. Witnesses state that the aggressors display feral behavior, attempting to maul and bite at innocent bystanders as well as responding police officers. SWAT teams have been mobilized for riot control and are expected to stop the violence promptly. Stay tuned for more news._

**Kaede**

**Town of Comet, 30 miles outside Los Angeles**

**07:46AM**

The blaring sirens on the police cruiser hurt my ears as it passed and I grimaced, covering my ears with my hands. That was the 4th one I had seen just in the time that I had been walking to school, which was 20 minutes, give or take. Absently wondering what was going on at the outskirts of the town, I shook my head to clear it before continuing down the street towards Comet High. I plugged in my headphones and started playing "For Baltimore" by All Time Low on my phone when a form jumped on me from behind, knocking me off balance as I screamed and tumbling us to the floor. Groaning from the weight of a person on my back, I turned my head and saw exactly who I expected it to be, a wide grin on her face.

"Really Alice? You're gonna break my spine on the first day of Fall?" I giggled. That was so like Alicia Taylor, my best friend, the girl was so hyperactive she acted like an 8 year old on Christmas sometimes.

"Oh come on Kae, your fat ass would cushion a T-Rex stepping on you," the other girl replied as I chuckled. Alice got to her feet and patted her lap before extending her hand to help me up. The two continued their banter as they continued their journey together.

"Have you heard?", Alice asked.

"Heard what?"

"I mean with the million cop cars driving to the edge of town, I'm obviously asking if you've heard about Obama's sex scandal."

"Obama had a sex scandal?"

"NO YOU DUNCE! I swear, why do I even hang with you? The riots birdbrain!"

"Hey!"

I thought back to the vehicles I'd seen the night before. Comet was one of the safest places in America. Could there really be a riot here?

"In Comet?"

"Yeah, my dad said a lot of people just went crazy and started, get this, biting people."

I was about to respond when a sudden ridiculously upbeat voice chimed in from behind us with an Irish accent, surprising me.

"Sup faggits."

We both laughed as we turned around to see Patrick, sporting a white collared shirt with an outrageous pink tie. The guy didn't know the meaning of inconspicuous.

"What's with that tie, holy crap, it looks like something Willy Wonka would wear." Alice laughed, trying her hardest, and failing, to compose herself.

"What can I say? The man has fabulous taste."

"Or the both of you belong in the circus." I playfully teased.

"See, this is why I like men. Women are such repulsive creatures, you belong in the zoo."

I burst out laughing again. Patrick O'Brien was one of the most thick-skinned specimens of the human species in existence. Nothing ever got him down, he even took to using homophobic slurs just to make fun of actual homophobics. He was also the third leg in our tripod of immaturity.

"Oh go suck a dick, Pat." Alice said.

"I intend to." Patrick replied cheerfully and we all laughed again. The rest of the journey was filled with the same playful air and I'd completely forgotten about the sirens.

**Amir**

**Firebase Foxtrot, 5 miles outside Los Angeles**

**10:20AM**

The cool fall air tingled against my skin as the music blared into my ears. I still wasn't used to how cold it got here and how dry the air was. Running the cloth over the barrel of my SCAR-L assault rifle once more, I nodded to myself in satisfaction and I placed it down on the table in front of my bunk. I then got to work with my handgun. Cleaning weapons helped clear my mind, keep me sharp. Coupled that with amazing tunes, I couldn't ask for a better past time. Unfortunately, it tended to get me into trouble sometimes. I felt one muff of my headphones get pulled off and didn't even have time to react or prepare myself.

"AMIR!"

My ear was blasted apart by a voice that made mortars sound like lullabies. I tore off my headphones and instinctively covered my ear with my head.

"Holy shit! What the fuck Lieutenant?"

"I've been yelling for you since I walked in the damned door. Would it kill you to lower the volume on that thing?"

I stared at Lieutenant Sarah Knightshold, my commanding officer, as she scowled at me. Then I noticed that she was in full battle gear.

"There something you needed from me, Ma'am?" I asked respectfully.

"Grab your shit and meet me outside in 2. We got new orders."

I stood and saluted her as she returned the gesture and walked out of the room. I turned back to my weapons.

_Halle-fucking-lujah, I thought I was gonna rot in here._

I had my vest on and gear packed in record time, meeting up with the Lieutenant with half a minute to spare. I saw that she was geared up too and that she wasn't alone. Staff Sergeant Morales, PFC Rodrigo Guinto and Corporal Asher were with her.

_The dream team eh?_

This was the group Sarah typically selected for tasks she handled personally as all five members had extensive combat experience. Though the youngest in the group, my record in PASKAL was more than enough to gain their respect. I fell in next to them and Sarah nodded.

"Alright listen up! I take it all of you are aware of the recent outbreaks of violence across the country?"

"Yes Ma'am!" We shouted simultaneously.

"I've received orders from command to assist the law enforcement of a nearby suburban town called Comet in crowd control. They're not as well-equipped as the bigger cities and since we happen to be in the area, we've been tasked with basically playing SWAT. Any questions?"

"No Ma'am!"

"Alright, we'll take a black hawk to the outskirts where local law enforcement have set up a barricade. From there we'll form a plan based on the situation. Let's move it people!"

We grabbed our bags and jogged towards the Black Hawk helicopter that had started to spin its rotor blades. Even though it was just playing cops, it was the first time I was going to see action since my transfer, and I looked forward to it.

**Patrick**

**Cafeteria, Comet Town High School, Town of Comet, 30 miles outside Los Angeles**

**12:34PM**

"Come on, you do like David, I know, Kae knows, it's not the CIA's best kept secret." I teased.

"SHUT UP PAT!" Alice whisper-screamed, frantically looking to make sure no one had heard and turning red as a tomato.

"I don't see what the big deal is. Why is liking someone such a bad thing?" Kaede said innocently. Sometimes it amazed me how innocent she was. The girl had no clue how teenage society works. I grinned. Still, it sometimes played out it my favor.

"Yeah Alice, what's wrong with being heads over heels for tall, blonde and handsome over there?" I gestured at the table that David Reiss was seated at.

Alice glared at me for taking advantage of the situation and I shrugged and smiled innocently. Hey, all's fair in love and tormenting your friends right?

"There's nothing "wrong" with it Kae, it's just… you know." Alice struggled to find the words as Kaede simply stared at her confused.

"Know what? I don't get it. If you have feelings for someone, why is it such a big deal? It's just liking someone, isn't it the same for everyone?"

"Well, yeah, but no it isn't, it's just, if he found out…" Alice stammered and I could barely stop myself from laughing at her attempt to educate Kaede about adolescent love.

"Hey, if you're not going to take him then I will, I've seen those abs in the locker room and let me tell you, it got reeeeeeaaaally hot in there real quick." I teased, waggling my eyebrows. Alice buried her face onto the table and groaned but Kaede simply turned to me looking annoyed.

"You can't take David away from her, she likes him!" I swear, the girl understood sarcasm but sometimes she really was clueless. Before I could reply, her face turned deadpan and she stood up. Alice looked up with a questioning look and I shrugged. Kaede started walking away from the table and the two of us were so confused we realized too late where she was going. Alice's eyes widened as she almost screamed and my mouth fell open. This was a whole new level even for Kaede. We watched as David and his friends turned to her and she started speaking. We couldn't hear what she was saying but David's friends started laughing and David, with an extremely baffled face looked from Kaede to our table. I forced an awkward smile and waved, and he waved back. Poor Alice looked like she was about to cry. She buried her face into her hands and mumbled.

"God, just kill me now."

I turned back to David's table and saw that he was smiling. Before I knew it, Kaede was leaving the table. With David following right behind her.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." I laughed and Alice looked up again, her shell shock reemerging. The two arrived back to the table and Kaede took her seat smiling innocently, completely oblivious to what she'd just done. David dragged a nearby vacant chair over and sat with us.

"How's it going mates?"

"All good, all good." I managed, on the brink of laughter and tears once more. Alice finally panicked and words spluttered out of her mouth.

"Wh-wh-what did she te-tell you?"

David smiled and winked at her, completely ignoring the question.

"Having an air-headed best friend is tough eh?" He teased.

"You. Have. No. Idea." Alice smiled weakly.

"Hey, I'm not air-headed…." Kaede pouted indignantly and it occurred to me how cute she was. She was like the kind of girl you just wanted to cuddle and keep in your cupboard like a plush toy. Our conversation was interrupted when a loud crash sounded from a few tables away. We all turned and saw that a senior had collapsed along with his tray and his girlfriend was desperately trying to rouse him. She started shaking his body and shouting for him to wake up. The rest of the cafeteria had gone deathly quiet.

"Someone call an ambulance! He's not breathing!" She cried, tears starting to flow out of her eyes. No one responded and rolling my eyes in annoyance, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed 911 but before I hit the call button, the girl gasped as the boy's eyes suddenly flew open, but even from here I could tell something was wrong with them. She only had time to say his name uncertainly, before he grabbed her and sank his teeth into her throat.


	4. Chapter 2: When It Hits The Fan

Note: Ohio gozaimasu minna! I was having a pretty bad day today so I took to writing to get my mind off things, and I've also been eager to introduce more of the OCs :) Although, I was a bit tipsy when I wrote it. ._. Warning: Incoming perverted scene that is probably really inappropriate but we all know you'll read it anyway :P . The style of writing this chapter is a little different because I wanted to try writing in some animeish elements. Let me know if this or the more realistic style is preferred. :) Urm, I regret to say that I might only be taking 5 or so more OCs max because I'm not sure I'd be able to give each character enough attention if I had anymore. :c Don't worry though, I intend to write more after this so your OCs wont go to waste! :)

**Mashona**

**Local Gas Station, Town of Comet, 30 miles outside Los Angeles**

**12:34 P.M.**

This was wrong. Completely, 100%, guaranteed with a sticker from the government wrong. I should have moved, had tried to but the sight of the woman's severed limbs littering the sidewalk, the blood and guts pouring out of her, and worst of all, the group of 5 feasting ravenously on her insides paralyzed me where I stood. I struggled to keep myself from throwing up. People, eating people. This had to be a nightmare, this kind of thing didn't happen in real life. I simply stood there, watching the gruesome display. If I'd been able to thing rationally, it would have occurred to me that the one woman wouldn't have lasted them long, that sooner or later I'd be next on the menu. But none of these came into my head, courtesy of shock. I let out a whimper before I could stop myself. One of…. _Them_ turned his head and I saw that half the skin on his forehead had been torn off, whatever skin remained was a sickly grey. But his eyes, those terrible eyes, they were pure whites, the eyeballs completely rolled back into the back of his head, as though he were dead.

But he wasn't dead, he couldn't be. Dead people didn't stand up from ravaged corpses. Didn't have the attention span to notice him. And most of all, dead people didn't stumble towards me, arms outstretched and moaning for my flesh. By the time the shock had cleared enough for me to fully understand what was happening, it was already too late. The dead guy pretty much fell onto me and obviously, having a 5'5, 130lbs body isn't really meant for holding up something heavier than me. We both fell to the ground as I pushed at his chest, desperately trying to keep him from biting off my face.

"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" I struggled and fought with all my strength, barely able to keep his teeth from touching my nose. His breathe stank of rot and drips of hot drool splattered on my face.

_This is it. This is how it ends. All those cheap zombie movies and I die to 1 zombie. I wonder who dies on the next mid-season finale of The Walking Dead._

My muscles were about to collapse when the drool on my face was replaced by a splash of blood. I felt the zombie stop moving, but I didn't dare open my eyes. I sounds resembling a watermelon being crushed as I got to my feet and wiped my face with my shirt. Opening my eyes, I wasn't sure what to expect but the well-built guy in a buzzcut holding a bloody army knife was definitely a sight for sore eyes.

"You okay, kid?"

I opened my mouth to speak but barely managed a stammer so I settled for a nod instead. I took a look around and saw the corpses at his feet.

_Holy shit, he took all of them down alone._

I felt an instinctive wave of fear but swallowed it back down. The guy had just saved my life, I owed him a thanks.

"Th-thank you. I'd have been meat if you hadn't come along." The guy nodded curtly and wiped his knife on his pants.

"Don't mention it. We should get moving. Other's might come and it's not safe in the open."

"Woah wait, what? You mean there's more of them?"

"You didn't know? This shit's happening all over town."

"What? That's not possible! Where are the cops?"

"Fuck if I know. My guess is that they've got their hands full."

The reality sank in and only one thought entered my mind. _Sam._ I had to get to her. I started running for my car when the guy asked me where I was going.

"I gotta get to the High School. My little sister's there. If this shit's all over town….."

I hoped I wasn't too late. The guy nodded and dropped his knife back into his pocket.

"Mind giving me a lift? My place is on the way to the school from here."

I nodded and we both got into the car and I hit the gas. He told me his address and as I drove, I could see the chaos unfolding. People were being attacked all over the place, fires were everywhere and I couldn't see a single undamaged car. Heck, I was in the only moving vehicle on the road. At least that meant the road was clear. I floored it, wanting to get to my sister as soon as possible. I stopped as we came by a small suburban house, and the guy got off.

"Thanks for the lift. Name's Brandon. When you get your sister, meet me back here. It'll be safer if we stick together."

"Yeah sounds good, I'm Mashona."

Wasting no time, I stepped on the pedal again, speeding off towards the High School.

_Hang on, Sam, I'm coming._

**Kaede**

Blood exploded from the throat, the body completely ravaged and mutilated. The sound of screaming, or maybe it was laughter, or both echoed in my ear. Monsters did exist.

**David**

**Cafeteria, Comet Town High School, Town of Comet, 30 miles outside Los Angeles**

**12:38 PM**

The resulting scene was utter chaos. The girl might have screamed, if she still had a throat. Instead she helplessly clawed at her throat, futilely trying to stop the bleeding before the thing that had been her boyfriend pulled her down and tore into the rest of her. I felt like I knew her name, but couldn't quite remember at that point. Teenagers were screaming and slamming into each other trying to get through the cafeteria doors. A few idiots tried to subdue the…. The… fuck it, it was what it was, a few idiot jocks that wore football jerseys tried to subdue the fucking zombie. It seemed to be working at first, it released its grip on the girl, but with speed that had no business belonging to a corpse, it spun around and sunk its teeth into the neck of the jock grabbing his right arm. The scream was ear piercing and barely sounded human. His friend started backing off, fear painted all over his face when he fell backwards screaming, tripping on something. My eyes widened when I saw what it was.

_The girl, the fucking girl is biting his leg._

Wasting no time, the dead girl pulled herself towards his face with whatever muscle was left on her. I'd seen enough, I turned to the other three who'd been at the table with me and saw Patrick, the Irish dude with ginger hair pull one of the girls away and started running for the door. I was about to follow when the girl, Alice, turned around and started screaming.

"SHE'S STILL BACK THERE, KAEDE'S STILL BACK THERE!"

I turned and looked down and saw the tiny girl sitting on the floor, her chair having fallen over, staring at the carnage. And she showed no signs of moving. Without turning, I shouted as I moved towards her.

"Just go! I got her!"

I quickly crouched beside her grabbing her shoulder but noticed something that made me pause. She _was_ looking at the jocks getting torn apart, but at the same time, she wasn't. She was staring in that direction and the pupil in her one visible eye was almost fully dilated, her mouth hanging slightly open but she seemed to be looking past them. I shook her and shouted her name. She blinked and turned to me, looking as though she'd just woken up from a dream.

"D-David?"

"Get up! We gotta go!"

Looking completely confused, she didn't resist when I pulled her to her feet and started running as she stumbled and started to keep up. Her disorientation seemed to fade and she started regaining her balance and to my utmost surprise, completely shot in front of me to catch up with her friends and jumping into Alice's relieved embrace, essentially leaving me in the dust. If I wasn't completely terrified of being eaten alive, I'd have stopped right there and let my jaw drop.

_Holy shit. The girl can __**run**__._

I glanced behind me as I ran and saw that every dead body back there had gotten up and was slowly but steadily stumbling towards me. A new sense of urgency surged through me and I picked up the pace. I wasn't gonna be zombie chow today. The other three of my group had stopped in front of the open door, the last ones not out of the cafeteria. I caught up with them, about to ask what the heck they were waiting for when I saw. It was complete anarchy in the halls. I don't know how it spread out there but students and teachers were eating each other, screams echoing on the walls that were painted with blood and gore. I saw a freshman girl try to crawl away from a feeding frenzy, tears and blood smearing her face and missing a leg. She was instantly pulled back and set upon by four zombies and I watched as her stomach was torn open and her insides spilled across the floor. God knows how I kept my stomach.

"This can't be happening, this can't be happening." Alice sobbed.

Patrick and Kaede remained silent, the shock and terror plain on their faces. But, as I looked at Kaede's face, I noticed something, I don't know, just off, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Attempting to keep them and quite frankly, myself calm, I tried to get their attention.

"We need to get out of the halls and get some weapons, we won't last long in the open and with our bare hands."

"The sports equipment room, it's usually locked so it should be safe." Patrick replied.

"If it's locked, how the fuck do we even get in?" Alice snapped, glaring at him. The pressure was really getting to her. Not. Good. Surprisingly, Kaede responded.

"We keep a spare key in the Kendo club room. It should still be there. There are some Bokkens in there too. They're kinda like the wooden swords that we-"

"Okay, we get the point, Kendo room it is." Trust the airhead to try and explain something like that while people were being eaten alive. Still, even at that moment, I had to admit it was helping to keep me from panicking. We spotted a relatively clear stairwell and dashed towards it, Kaede leading the way. Damn, let me tell you, it was not easy keeping up with that girl. I almost had to drag Alice so she wouldn't fall behind. We climbed to the third floor and ran down an empty hallway. Relief flowed through me as I noticed that the upper floors were mostly clear.

_Guess everyone tried to make a break for the front doors._

"I swear, if we make it out alive, I'll never call you a fag again, Pat." Alice panted.

"How kind of you, no promises I'll do the same though."

Kaede let out a soft giggle and I smiled a little. Kaede had just stopped to open a door when we all crashed into her, into the room and onto the floor.

"Urgh, why does everyone want to flatten me today…." Kaede groaned. I was about to apologize when I heard a new voice.

"Kae-Chan!"

**Feli**

**Kendo Club Room, Comet Town High School, Town of Comet**

**12:50 PM**

I quickly ran to shut the door before anyone or anything that heard the ruckus came looking. I looked down at the heap of bodies, with my poor little Kaede right at the bottom. The three others rolled away, muttering apologies and panting. Wasting not time at all, I swooped up Kaede's tiny little body and gave her a tight hug, burying my cheek into her soft hair, my own hair covering her head, as she went "Hngh". God she was adorable.

"Seriously, what is it that everyone has against my spine today?"

Releasing her from the hug and holding on to her shoulders, I looked into her one hazel eye that wasn't covered by her long magenta bangs and her angelic features.

"I'm so glad that you're okay! You're not hurt right? They didn't bite you or anything. I swear to god, if they hurt you, so help me-"

"I'm fine, Onee-san."

Oh, you're probably wondering what's with the weird names. She liked anime, I liked hentai. Calling a ball of sweetness like her Kae-Chan seemed right, and she called me Onee-san in return. I heard a cough and turned my attention away from Kaede, feeling my cool expression melt back onto my face. Her three companions had gotten up and were standing next to the other 4 others who'd stumbled in, quite literally though not as dramatically as them, before them. There was Ginger, a girl with dark brown hair with red highlights, who seemed kinda anti-social. Gin Takashiro, I call him Taka to avoid confusion, who was in my class and the student council. He had weird snow-white hair with violet streaks but he wasn't albino. Some freaky butch girl with way too much eye make up and a constant snarl who called herself Wolf. Seriously, Wolf? And lastly, another Japanese boy named Kyoya, who just seemed really shy. They all watched us awkwardly while Wolf made a barfing gesture and scowled at us. I stuck my nose in the air but noticed Kyoya blushing. The really tall and buff blonde guy from Kaede's group cleared his throat.

"You're Felicita Vargas." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Nothing it's just… Nothing, I'm David. This is Alice and Patrick. I can see you already know Kaede."

I introduced the others to them. Gesturing to each of them.

"This is Gin, Taka," I rolled my eyes and said her name in a sarcastic voice. "_Wolf,_ and finally-"

"Kyo-Tan!" I barely even saw her move as Kaede ran forward and leapt onto the boy, hugging him tightly.

"H-h-hi Kaede." I stared at the spectacle feeling a lot more than a little jealous, and Alice noticed this.

"Kyoya is in our class. Kaede likes him because he's Japanese."

I felt myself going red when Patrick interrupted.

"Okay, now that we're all best buds, can we get back to more important things, you know maybe NOT getting our brains eaten by the living dead might be at the top of the list? Just a teeny weeny bit? Yes, no, maybe?"

I nodded, pushing my jealousy aside. For now.

"We have a few wooden swords in here but not enough for all of us. We're going to need to hit sports equipment to arm everyone."

"Woah woah woah, who the fuck put you in charge?"

**Kyoya**

Kaede's embrace felt just like cuddling a plush toy. I couldn't stop thinking about how cute she was. I wanted this moment to never end but she released me and took a step back. My disappointment was by no means small. She looked me straight in the eye and smiled that sweet smile of hers, tilting her head in a child-like way and putting her hands behind her back. It made me more ashamed of having just "released" while thinking about her and my blush intensified. I knew I couldn't help it due to my sexual disorder but it still made me shameful of having seriously R-rated thoughts about this innocent girl. I wasn't even paying attention to the conversation at hand but that changed when Wolf pushed me aside, stepping forward aggressively towards Felicita. She shoved past Kaede with a scowl on her face and almost pushed her to the ground. I felt a sudden rush of anger but fought it back down. I knew this wasn't a fight I could win.

"Back off Wolf." Felicita growled.

"Or what? You think just because you're the Little Don, I'm afraid of you? Fuck you, your mafia ain't here bitch."

"Jesus, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" The Irish, Patrick, interjected.

This obviously touched a nerve because she turned on him, a murderous expression on her face.

"The fuck you say?"

"STOP IT!"

I hadn't even noticed her move. Kaede was now standing in between them, staring down the taller and much bigger girl with her one eye. Her eye. I wondered if it was my imagination but it seemed to be glowing red.

"You better step out of the way kid, or I'll-"

"You'll what? Poke me in my eye with your nose ring?" I'd never heard Kaede talk like that before.

Wolf took a step forward, clearly about to take a swing but hesitated, and I saw why. The small girl standing in her way barely looked like Kaede. Her expression was dark and impassive and her eye WAS red.

"We need to work together." Kaede's voice was barely a whisper but her usually gentle voice had dropped into a husky tone.

A long 2 seconds passed before Wolf made a "tch" sound before muttering, "Whatever." And returned to her corner of the room. The tension slowly started to ease and Kaede barely had time to close her eyes and let out a breathe before Felicita snuck up behind her and grabbed the smaller girl's tiny breasts from behind causing her to squeal and her face turned bright red.

"Oh my god, where's this tough side of you been all along? That's my Kae-Chan!"

"St-st-stop! Don't touch me there!"

"Have I ever told you how nice and soft your boobs were?"

I continued watching Kaede trying to struggle and failing. Despite my jealousy, I'd never admit it, but this was arousing in a lot of wrong ways.

**Patrick:**

I stared awkwardly at the scene in front of us. The unease in the air was thick enough, you could take a knife and cut it. People were being eaten alive downstairs and here we were, watching a scene from some weird porno. I sighed and rubbed my temple with my fingers.

_And people wonder why I'm gay._


	5. Chapter 2(point)5:When Kiyumie Sobers Up

**Note:** Hey hey all, I'm just gonna admit it straight up, I was a little more than half drunk when I wrote the second chapter, but I did kinda like how it turned out and experimenting with styles. I've decided to go with the HOTD style of a mix of seriousness and comedy and yes, a bit of ecchi, and not end up writing a fanfic for The Walking Dead instead. xD The rationale is that in times of distress, people try to lighten moods and do funny things to relieve stress and not go insane. :) All the same though, I wasn't satisfied with the lack of exploration of the characters in the second chapter cos of having to fit both the events of the chapter, as well as just introducing the characters haha. Therefore, despite being dead beat from crossplaying as Kaneki Ken from Tokyo Ghoul today, AND taking an awesome picture with Eir Aoi(You jelly? You jelly? Yeah you jelly :P) I'm writing an extension to the previous chapter to give the characters more screen time :) I'll probably end up doing what I did with Patrick and improvising on them with my own small twists ^.^ Enjoy! Oh right, urm, maybe I should have made it more clear but Nashano is a guy hahaha, but hey, Japanese guys make really cute girls anyway haha

**Ginger**

I don't know how you imagined forming a plan in the zombie apocalypse would be sitting around in a circle was most definitely not what I'd expected. All we needed was a damned camp fire and marshmallows. When Feli had called for a circle to throw in suggestions, I instinctively plopped myself between the only three other girls in the room. I wouldn't consider Wolf a girl and besides, she'd ignored Feli and was sulking in the corner of the room.

_Totally didn't see __**that**__ coming._

Feli sat the tiny girl, Kaede, _I swear she looks like a 12 year old, _onto her lap and had her arms wrapped around Kaede, her chin nuzzling onto the top of the smaller girl's head. Who'd have thought the zombie apocalypse would have been the start of a lesbian Twilight rip-off. I kept my emotionless persona strong but all the same, I moved a little closer to Alice, probably the only normal girl in the room. Kaede was adorable, no question, and even without knowing her well, I already liked her but somehow, I felt normalcy might be a better choice when the dead were trying to eat you alive. I kept my distance from the boys, trying my best not to be noticeable. I didn't trust any of them, although to be fair, I didn't trust ANY male on the planet, not anymore. Feli started the show by laying out the basic objectives mainly being, getting to the sports equipment room to get weapons, then using said weapons to bust out of school. She then proceeded to ask everyone to provide any information that might help.

"_They_ seem to mostly be on the first floor. _They_ moved pretty slow so maybe it's hard for them to climb stairs or something. So I guess we're kinda safe till the second floor." David threw out.

"What I've noticed is that their eyes are kind of just rolled back into their heads, not milky white like Kaede's-" He gestured to her. I looked to her in confusion and she caught my gaze. She gave me a small smile before pushing her ridiculously long bangs aside, revealing a completely white eyeball and a long jagged scar the ran from her brow to her cheekbone. Honestly, I was surprised the eyeball was even still there at all. She mouthed the words "car crash" and I nodded respectfully before returning my attention to the discussion.

"Point being is that if their pupils are inside their head, they should still effectively be blind."

"I'd rather not test that but we'll keep that in mind. Anything else?"

"They only die if we get them in the head, cos they're zombies."

**Taka**

There it was, the elephant in the room. Everyone was obviously thinking it, I mean _they _were fucking corpses rising to eat the flesh of the living, of course they were zombies. But no one had actually went and said it, that way we could keep pretending that the situation wasn't as crazy as it really was. Well, of course, that was until the one-eyed airhead dropped the nuke on us.

"Zombies aren't real Kaede." I calmly replied.

"Of course they are, they're right downstairs!"

"Kaede, they're not zombies, they're just…" I struggled to find a word, any word that wasn't zombie. "Sick."

"Sick people who come back from the dead to eat people ARE zombies." Kaede insisted. Feli raised an eyebrow at me and smirked a little.

"She's got a point."

"Okay seriously, can we just not use that word. It makes me feel uncomfortable alright?"

"What about Freds?" I blinked and looked at David, the person I least expected such an outrageous suggestion from. I heard Wolf snort from across the room.

"Say what now?"

"Freds, as in Fred Hendrickson. You know, that one janitor who looks like an extra in Dawn of the Dead?"

"Freds it is!" Feli laughed. That drew a much needed laugh from everyone, even Ginger, the emo girl. I shot a quick glance towards Wolf and could've sworn that she had the faintest of smiles playing on her lips as she stared at a wall.

"Okay fine, Freds then." I shook my head but smiled. I looked back at David who had the goofiest grin on his face. Feli then cleared her throat, regaining everyone's attention.

"Okay then, the Sports room is on the second floor so it should be pretty clear. We'll take the Bokkens from this room in case there's any trouble. There's only four though. I'll take one myself. David, Taka and Patrick take the other 3. You guys seem to be more physically fit. Unless anyone here is secretly a super mma ninja and want to fight instead?" Kaede immediately looked upwards at Feli.

"I want to fight and protect everyone too!" Feli smiled sweetly at Kaede and rubbed her head.

"No no no, you're too precious to be killing Freds, you're staying right behind me where I can protect you."

"But I was in Kendo too!" Kaede pouted and complained. David chuckled.

"She's right Kaede, wouldn't do if your "nice and soft" boobs got hurt, would it." He teased.

Kaede's eyes shot towards him and widened, her cheeks turning bright red and she started gesturing randomly, as though she was trying to put a point across but had no idea what the point was.

"Wha- wha- what, do you even, why are, what are you saying?!"

I shook my head and muttered to myself in my native tongue.

_Yade yade._

**Kiyumie: In case you guys didn't know, "yade yade" is Japanese for kind of like saying "Oh geez" or something along those lines. Kinda like a sigh put into words. At least I think so. :) Now excuse me while I wash this stubborn mascara off and head to bed, oyasumi minna! 3**


	6. Chapter 3: New and Familiar Faces

**Note: Hai hai minna ^.^ Kiyu-Chan here and as I'm writing this, I'm down with a pretty bad flu while in the middle of hell week(like 6 different projects all due these two weeks). My throat feels like sandpaper and my eyes hurt so bad, I'm literally tearing up and they look red and swollen. BUT, because of how awesome I am, I'm still taking time to update today cos I love you guys ^.^ With this chapter, I SHOULD have introduced all of the school characters (I hope) and I'm only accepting 3 more OCs of any background, gender or age but I would reaaaaaally reaaaally love if someone could make me a little girl or little boy ._. cos I have literally no children in the story. Anyway, enough kiyurambles, let's get this show on the road!**

**Kaede**

Watching Onee-Chan pass around the bokkens just made me feel more irritated. I was not a little girl, I knew I could fight but everyone just seemed to think I was helpless. Onee-Chan had seen me in Kendo before but she still saw me as someone to be protected and not someone who could protect.

_You couldn't protect HER._

I jumped, and barely managed to stop myself from screaming. The voice had caught me completely off guard. I felt my blood turn to ice as I realized why the voice sounded familiar. This had never happened before. I had never heard it outside of my dreams. My knees started to feel weak and I backed towards the wall and leaned on it, wrapping my arms around my chest. Something else occurred to me. When I had watched that poor girl get killed, why had it felt like something I'd seen before. Was it the crash? Had I witnessed one of the other victims before I passed out? And who was _her?_

I was so lost in thought that I jumped and squeaked when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Hey hey, relax, it's just me Kae." Alice said reassuringly while raising her palms towards me as a peace gesture. I let out a sigh of relief and buried my face in my palms.

"You're scared too huh." She added lamely. I nodded but didn't mention that I was scared of something completely different from her.

"Well, I guess not even you are airheaded enough not to be scared of… this…" I half-heartedly swiped my hand at her head as she dodged, and we both giggled. Wanting to feel the companionship, I hugged her, catching her off guard but she barely hesitated before returning it.

"It'll be okay. We'll be okay." She whispered soothingly into my ear while patting me on the back. Even though she was probably referring to something else, her voice still did wonders to calm me down. Our brief moment of affection was cut shot by someone clearing their throat.

"Alright, let's do this."

**Ginger**

I watched the two girls reluctantly break apart from their embrace but they kept holding each other's hand as they walked back to rejoin the group. The love and trust the two shared was obvious and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know they were as close as siblings. Not going to lie, I felt a little envious by how much Kaede and Alice trusted each other. It was something I could only hope to have ever since… Turning back to the group I almost giggled when I saw the not so subtle jealousy on Feli's face. I noticed that the younger Japanese boy, Kyoya, was blushing red and staring at his feet. Those two were jealous for an entirely different reason. Feli wiped the emotion from her face and returned to being a calm, collected leader.

"Okay, Gin and I will take the front, while Patrick and David are on rear guard. The rest of you stay close in between us. Move fast, and move quietly. We should be able to get there without any Freds noticing us."

She snorted when she said the name that we'd coined for the zombies and the rest of us giggled once more. I suddenly noticed that Wolf had walked across the room, the scowl still on her face but the hostility was not as strong. She walked over to Patrick and snatched the Bokken out of his hands, the Irish boy too shocked to even react.

"Give me that, the way you're holding it is giving me cancer. Faggot like you would drop the fucking thing the moment you saw a Fred. The one-eyed midget would probably fight better than you." I noted that she'd said "Fred".

"See!" Kaede called out, upon hearing her combat skills be mentioned. Wolf rolled her eyes and walked away. Patrick put his hands up and whispered to Alice.

"Hey, I get to be protected by two hot guys with the rest of you, I ain't complaining." Alice laughed and punched him in the shoulder.

"Oh shut up!"

We got into formation and Feli nodded. She took a deep breathe before counting down from 3, then she opened the door and we stepped back out into the School Of Death.

**David**

We quietly snuck down the stairs as I carefully scanned the hallway for any signs of movement. I noted that the punk girl, Wolf, was doing the same. I also noticed that she was pretty muscular. Fuck, her arms were almost as big as mine and even though I was pretty lean, that was quite the achievement for a chick. She was of average height and had a pretty normal body. Apart from her slightly muscular arms, she looked pretty much like a normal punk girl. I'd never have pegged her for the loud, hostile type she'd shown herself to be. Feeling comfortable knowing she was competent, I turned around and let my gaze wander to the 5 less athletics in between the two of them and the two at the front.

Kaede and Alice were walking hand in hand, huddling close to each other. It was impossible to tell who was comforting who although it was pretty likely that it was both. The emo girl, Ginger, was walking, with a slight slouch and her hands in her hoodie pockets, close to them but staying relatively far away from the two guys.

_Wonder what her beef is._

Patrick and the smaller Asian boy,Kyoya, were walking further up ahead. I noticed that Kyoya was looking backwards, staring at Kaede. The three girls were looking around nervously and hadn't noticed. Kyoya then realized that I'd caught him and quickly looked forward. I sighed and thought about how Feli was not going to be happy about it.

"Hey Jackass, we're supposed to be guarding here, not staring pervertedly at girls." Wolf snapped, catching me off guard and my eyes shot back in front of me, not unlike how Kyoya had just did. I heard Patrick chuckle and could practically hear his grin as he spoke to Alice.

"Hey, Alice, you hear that? Your Prince Charming was staring at you!"

"Shut up, Pat!"

I sighed, cursing the events that had taken place. After Kaede had come over and very directly told me about her best friend's crush on me, the girl had no sense of tact, I'd quite honestly been caught off guard. Usually the girls I dated would do the whole glass slipper trick, like drop a handkerchief, or purse or whatever in front of me. Even if it was their friends helping them out, they'd always only drop hints and try to urge me to ask their friend out. Then there was Kaede who literally came up to me and said, "Hi David! My best friend Alice is sitting over back there. She likes you, would you come sit and talk with her?" in front of my friends.

Still, Alice was pretty cute. I'd completely intended to ask her out for a movie or something but most importantly for what came after. Wink wink. I wasn't the type of guy who was into serious relationships but hey, it could happen and if it didn't, well, at least it was a good time. Then that psycho tore his girlfriend's throat out. I knew that girl but couldn't quite put my finger on her name. Damned zombies, I mean urm, Freds. The hallway was deathly quiet except from the vague sounds of the massacre echoing off the walls from downstairs. The screams had mostly stopped and now all that was left was the sound of moaning and flesh tearing. The way to the Sports room was perfectly clear, proving my theory about the Freds being vertically challenged. I absently wondered if any of the guys made it out. They were mostly the idiots that athletic popular people like myself were expected to hang out with but they were still good people. We gathered around the door and Feli nodded to me, then the stairwell. I nodded, and moved to watch the stairwell, from which the sounds and smells of death were thick in the air. Because I was watching the stairs, I had no clue what happened when I heard the sound of wood striking metal.

**Mina**

I crouched behind a bin filled with basketballs as both Mike and Phil took position by the door. The two tall and muscular guys raised their weapons, a rusty iron pipe that Mike had torn out of a heater and Phil's own fencing swords. He held one in both hands, the one on the left slightly thinner than the other. The remaining other two people in the room stood a little further back as a second line of defense, a tall and lean guy named Kyle with a broomstick as well as a tall chinese girl name Catherine with two long bars that kinda looked like crowbars but not really. I didn't even want to know where she got them. Each of them looked imposing and ready to fight. Compared to them, my 5'0 frame and lack of any fighting skills made me feel useless. I wished there was something I could do to help, and not just let everyone protect me. The only thing good about my body was that I had pretty nice curves for an Asian.

_And what were you intending to do with them? Go to bed with a dead guy so he won't eat you?_

The thought only made me frown as I mentally kicked myself for being useless. The doorknob started moving and I froze. My breath grew shallow as the door opened and I saw a medium sized female figure in the doorframe. Kyle wasted no time and swung at the figure's head. I had only just realized that whoever he was attacking wasn't a zombie, was about to cry out for him to stop when the figure raised something with lightning fast reflexes. The pipe was stopped centimeters from her face and the sound of the strike exploded off the closed walls. The figure pushed back with surprising strength, knocking Mike's pipe away. She was about to strike, with Phil poised to counter when a smaller girl with a medium length side ponytail leapt into the center of them from behind the first girl. I'd recognize that girl anywhere.

"Stop! We're all people!"

All three froze and the tension in the air skyrocketed. Catherine and Kyle looked to each other but didn't lower their weapons. Another girl, slightly bigger than Kaede ran to her side grabbing her arm, but standing by her side. Unable to hold still anymore, I ran out from my cover to hug my two classmates.

"Kaede! Alice!"

"Mina?" They both said simultaneously as I leapt onto the two taller girls and wrapped my arms around them. Their shock wore off quickly and they both hugged back.

"We're so glad you're alright." Alice sobbed, and Kaede murmured her agreement. I was so relieved that two of my friends had survived.

Seeing this, the others all dropped their hostilities and lowered their weapons. Phil sheathed both his swords on his back sheath and extended a hand to the first girl that I'd seen. I noticed that she looked European with slightly olive skin, her hot pink hair falling in soft curls to her waist.

"Sorry about that. Things have just been a little…. Well, crazy. Name's Phil."

"Felicita, the others call me Feli. This is my group." She stepped aside revealing 6 others behind her, one of whom I recognized.

Kyoya, an extremely shy classmate of the three of us and also someone with an extremely obvious crush on Kaede. Who could blame him? Kaede was great. Feli introduced them. The others were Taka, a similarly built Japanese boy with snow white hair(was that dyed?) streaked with purple, who looked far more confident with a lean but athletic build. Ginger, a girl who had reddish brown hair with a build similar to Alice's whose expression looked almost bored with her bangs swept to both sides but still falling into her eyes. Patrick, an Irish boy who of average height who looked kind of like Rupert Grint with Daniel Radcliffe's nose. David, who was tall, blonde, lean and athletic, grinning at us goofily. He looked like he belonged on a football recruitment poster. Finally there was… Wolf… I'm not exactly sure how to describe her. She might have looked like your average punk girl with short black hair and heavy eye make up if it wasn't for the hostile snarl on her face. I made a mental note to stay clear of her. Phil then introduced us as I nodded to Kyoya and he mouthed a "hello". Feli's group entered the room and before long everyone was grabbing baseball bats, kendo bokkens, anything that could be used for a weapon. Feli shared her plan with us as well as information they had gathered about the "Freds" as they called it. Today was definitely a day for weird names. We all agreed to join them and we prepared together with them. I always prided myself for being a model student so I never thought I would feel glad to be breaking out of school.

**Amir**

**Police Garrison, Town of Comet**

**02:06 P.M.**

The smell of blood, rot and gunpowder was thick in the air. It was suffocating. I watched one of the last police officers stationed at the garrison get dragged to the floor by his fallen comrades. Trying desperately to save him, I fired round after round into the zombies, trying to go for headshots. My aim was good but there was simply too many of them and I looked away as the man was ripped apart, his screams filling the air. I started stepping backward as I fired. The Lieutenant was shouting something but I couldn't hear it over the gunfire. My SCAR-L finally clicked empty and I ejected the spent clip, taking the down time to catch up with my teammates. The garrison was lost. Sarah had given the order to fall back and regroup. How the fuck was there this many undead in a town like this? It probably didn't help that many of the police officers had already been infected when they were stationed at the garrison.

"Everyone rendezvous at the grocery store!"

I slammed in a fresh clip and started firing before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Sarah staring at me.

"Don't bother, they're slow so just save the ammo, God knows we'll need it." I nodded and the two of us ran into an alleyway, gradually losing the undead behind us. We'd been split up from the rest of the squad but I had not doubt that they'd be at the meet-up point. We ran in silence, neither of us willing to speak. The moans of the undead was plenty enough noise for the moment.

**End Note: Bleh, it's like almost 1am here and I literally feel like death. I hate the flu. I'm glad I finished the chapter tho but I only hope it turned out alright. Oh well, I leave you peeps with this while I take some medicine and pass out. Oyasumi minna ^.^**


	7. Chapter 4: Insert Chapter Name Here

**Note: Surprise! Well, my internet's been out all day so I can't do any work or play any games so I've pretty much been sleeping all day. Internet's still out so ima write the new chapter and upload it with my phone hotspot haha. :P Thanks for all the good wishes on my illness! I'm still a little sick but its definitely better now! I don't actually feel like I'm about to turn into a Fred anymore so yaay! 3 I really appreciate you guy's support :) Oh oh oh, something else exciting, I found that picture of me crossplaying as Kaneki with Eir Aoi on her twitter! Also, I did a sketch of psycho Kaede which I've made the story picture :D Bleh, anyway, here we goooo~~~~**

**Phil**

I watched the undead shuffle around, completely oblivious to our presence. Feli was with me, scouting out the first floor from the top of the stairs to try and map out the fastest path to the carpark with the least number of Freds, I still couldn't get over the name they'd coined, to get fight through. We had quite a number of capable fighters but we wanted to minimize the risk as much as possible. A tall girl, standing at 6' tall stood next to Feli, leaning onto the railing and smiling at me with glowing green eyes, her brown hair flowing to her shoulders. It was a face I knew all too well. It was also a face only I could see.

"Quite the mess this has turned into, huh babe."

Not wanting to sound like a lunatic to Feli and the others behind us, I responded with a simple small nod, but flashed Lane a small smile before returning to the task at hand. We'd all agreed that the fastest way to the carpark would be through the machine shop but we still had to get across most of the downstairs hallway and past the lockers. The same hallway that was currently flooded by dozens of the undead. It was like looking at a sea of moving dead bodies.

"Any ideas?"

"One. Taka said that they're probably blind, so they are attracted to sound. If we can cause a ruckus at the other end of the hall, they might all move there and we can get by."

"Think launching a football over there would do the trick?"

"Maybe, but who can throw that far?"

"Ahem."

We both turned around quickly and shushed whoever made the noise. I quickly turned back to check if any of the undead were making their way over. One or two of them had heard and were trying to shuffle up the steps but the shuffling movement made them unable to ascend the steps and they kept falling. I returned my attention to David with his goofy grin and glared at him.

"Are you fucking crazy? Do you want to swim in an ocean of zombies?"

"Relax, I just proved that we were right about them not being able to climb stairs. And they're called _Freds."_

"Why do I get the feeling that you're the one who came up with the stupid name."

"Hey, hey, my genius was recognized." David chuckled and I rolled my eyes. Then his grin shortened into a smirk.

"I can make the shot." I blinked and both Feli and I responded simultaneously.

"Excuse me?"

"I was in the basketball team, I can sail a ball across the hall easy."

Feli and I looked at each other and I heard Lane chuckle, clearly amused at the exchange.

"Well, I guess there's our plan."

**David**

"You can do it, David!" Alice whispered from behind. I turned around and shot a quick glance at her. She was huddling close to Kaede and smiling encouragingly at me. I grinned and gave her a quick wink before turning back to the stairwell. Feli, Phil and I slowly crept down the steps until we were about 5 steps from the bottom. Phil then handed me a basketball as Feli gently grasped my shoulder and whispered.

"You sure you can do this?"

"Feli, you're looking at the MVP of just about every basketball game that this school has played. Well, for the past two years at least." I replied proudly.

"Alright then, do your thing."

I took a deep breath and aimed for a locker sitting at the other end of the hallway. Despite my confidence, this was a tricky shot because the target was being blocked by the Freds and I had to hit a locker if it was going to be heard over the moans. I took aim trying to perfect the arc when I spotted something in the corner of my eye. I felt the grin spread across my face as I shifted my aim to my new target. This target was taller than the lockers, easily above head level of any Fred, and would make so much more noise. Twisting my body to gather strength, I confirmed the path that the ball would take.

I let the ball soar straight into the school's trophy display case.

**Theo**

I jumped as I heard the crash and instinctively raised my crowbar into striking position before realizing it had come from the hallway. I relaxed and sat back down on the wheel-less pick up truck in the machine shop. I sighed and wondered, not for the first time, how the heck I was going to get out of this one. I was good at martial arts and I'd probably be able to take down maybe 5 or even 10 of the slow bastards but not an entire school of them. Like an idiot I'd tried to go straight for the carpark alone, not even considering the possibility that because that was what many others had tried to do, the carpark would be filled with zombies as well. I looked at the crowbar and twirled it around my hand, while pushing my glasses back into position with my other hand. It was a good weapon but definitely didn't fit my style. Suddenly, I heard a door handle and leapt to my feet once more, the crowbar immediately at the ready.

The door opened and 2 familiar faces stepped quietly in, a girl with hot pink hair and a tall lean boy with blonde hair, motioning for others behind them to hurry up.

"Feli? David?" I whispered. They both turned to me and recognition spilled onto their faces.

"Theo?" They both said at the same time before looking at each other.

"You know her?" They dittoed each other once again. David spoke first the next time.

"Yeah, she's got home room with me." Feli nodded before replying.

"Gym class."

Immediately after, I saw the rest of their group step in, a few more familiar faces as well. Gin Taka, the student council vice-president who was as laid-back as I was. Phil Angelo, because, well, who didn't know the Prince of Fencing? And then there was the tiny girl with the unique hair, ridiculously long magenta bangs and a cyan highlighted side ponytail whom I didn't know personally.

"Wait, Feli, isn't that the airheaded sophomore loli you had that major pedo crush on?"

Feli turned bright red as the others started to chuckle and lunged at me, clasping her hand over my mouth as I tried to mumble.

"Theo! You and your big mouth!"

**Kaede**

Onee-Chan kept her hand over the tall girl with the British accent's mouth as she tried to struggle free. I frowned indignantly and stared at my feet.

"I'm not airheaded…." The response from Mina, Alice, Pat and David was brutal and immediate.

"You are." Alice then pat me on my head with the hand that wasn't holding mine and smiled sweetly at me. Kyo-tan edged slightly closer to me and spoke softly.

"I don't think you're airheaded…" A bright smile spread across my face and I let go off Alice's hand, jumping onto Kyo-tan and hugging him.

"Thanks, Kyo-tan!" I felt him raise him hands awkwardly, hesitant and not sure how to react. Finally he gently returned the hug before I let go before grasping Alice's hand once more. I looked around and saw Wolf standing in a corner of the room, scowling as usual, and the chinese girl, Catherine leaning on the pick up truck in the middle of the room watching the scene passively. I realized the girl hadn't said anything at all since I'd met her. Dragging Alice with, I approached her.

"Hi, hi, Catherine!" I said cheerfully. She looked at me with a slightly confused look before smiling, her small eyes relaxing.

"Hi Kaede." Her voice was soft and slightly husky and she spoke with a very weird accent that I couldn't place. However, her tone was extremely relaxed and I guessed that she had a really laid-back attitude. She was much taller than me, about 5'7 and had long black glossy Asian hair that reached her lower ribcage.

"Kaede figured that urm, since we're all going to be surviving the apocalypse together, we should get to know each other better! Urm, Kaede is 16, and she loves puppies!"

She blinked, before giggling a little.

"I'm 15, I was from Singapore originally before moving here with my dad."

"What about your mum?" Alice asked before I could stop her. The fact that she hadn't mentioned her mum meant that we weren't supposed to talk about her. Catherine's smile faded and her eyes turned a little sad.

"She died in a car crash when I was 3. I never knew her."

"Oh." I smacked Alice in the back of the head and she glared at me as Catherine walked away, back towards the rest of the group. Before she could reply, I felt a set of fingers pinch around the sensitive area on my chest. I let out a soft scream and jumped forward, turning around with my arms covering my chest. Onee-Chan was smiling sweetly at me, her hand outstretched with her fingers doing a squeezing motion. Alice stepped slightly in between us but I knew Onee-Chan wouldn't actually hurt me.

"You're so cute when you react to people touching your boobs, Kae-Chan."

"I'm not sure I appreciate you molesting my best friend." Alice whispered impassively.

"Is that so? Are you going to stop me then?" The smile never left Onee-Chan's face but the challenge was unmistakable in her voice. I put my hand on Alice's shoulder and when she turned to me, I nodded.

"It's okay Alice, Onee-Chan is nice to Kaede, she always protects Kaede." I could tell Alice wasn't convinced but she let it slide before giving Onee-Chan one last look then turned back to me.

"Okay, but if anyone tries to hurt you, you have to tell me, you HAVE to, okay?"

I nodded and hugged her tightly. I heard and felt her exhale and noticed Onee-Chan's smile slowly fading.

"Anyway, we're about to discuss plans for what we're gonna do after we get out of here."

"Okay." Onee-Chan turned and walked back to the group, where Taka and Kyle were in the middle of a conversation, both of them smiling. Pat walked over and shook his head at us.

"Eesh, do you two ever stay out of trouble?"

"She's the one who molested Kaede!" Alice replied angrily. Pat smiled and shook his head. One of the rare times where there was no sarcasm in his expression.

"Look, I know how she might seem to you, but I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of character. That girl is a born leader and she especially likes Kaede, so believe me when I say, she'll tear down both hell and heaven before she lets anyone hurt our little airhead, herself included." I started to reply that I wasn't an airhead but Pat cut me off with his hand.

"Tut, tut, tut. You're an airhead, doesn't matter how many times you deny it, you're still an airhead. It's what makes you so adorable." I blushed and Alice laughed.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. Come on, they're waiting on us." We walked back to the group and noticed that 4 people, Feli, David, Phil and Taka, were standing in front, facing the rest. I realized that they were our unspoken leaders. Feli nodded and started the briefing.

"Okay, according to Theo here, the carpark is crawling with Freds as well, almost as many as the hallway. However, the space is more open, which means it'll be much easier to fight. The plan is to find two or more vehicles capable of holding enough of us." She nodded to Phil.

"Now, we have no idea how bad it is out there but the fact that no cops have shown up yet means that it's probably pretty bad. I understand that everyone will want to look for their family. That's why we want multiple vehicles, so that we can split into a few smaller groups to cover more ground, then meet up again after we've all done what we need to do."

"Which leads us to the main issue at hand. I need to know how many of us can hotwire a car." I could tell that she was staring at Wolf and when I turned to her, I saw her glowering back.

"What? Just because I'm dressed like this, you automatically assume I can hotwire a car?"

"Well, yes, actually." Pat whispered into my ear and I giggled.

"Well, can you?" Feli asked impatiently.

Wolf glared at her a little while more before turning away and replying , "Yes."

"Alright, including me, that makes two, which we could work with but it'd be better if there were more."

"Urm, I can hotwire a car." Both Alice and I turned, eyes and mouths wide open as we recognized the voice. The one person in the group who was shorter then me was shyly playing with her hair, blushing.

"Mina? What? You're joking!"

"Actually, urm, you know those times I picked you up to come over, Kaede? I didn't actually have permission from my brother." She replied, embarrassed with herself. Ignoring the bombshell, Feli cleared her throat.

"Right then, that makes three. Anyone else?" The group remained silent.

"Okay, then I guess its time to bust out school."

**End Note: Welp, I'm finally done introducing all the school characters so we can finally get down to the action! Yay! I feel so long-winded for having dragged it out this long haha. Anyway, I was hugging my plush puppy, Sparky, which incidentally is also the name of Kaede's plush Pikachu :D Anyway, that's it for Kiyu-Chan for now but Kaede-Chan would like to reply to some of the reviews!**

**Kaede: Wait, really? Really, Kiyu-Senpai?!**

**Me: Yup! Go ahead Kae-Chan!**

**Kaede: Yay! Arigato Gozaimasu Kiyu-Senpai! Ahem, hello minna! Kaede-Chan has been pestering Kiyu-Senpai to let her talk to the readers but she kept forgetting to let Kaede do it :c But this time she remembered so Kaede will reply to the most recent reviews :D**

** Awesome D.T Kiyu-Senpai really isn't all that hardworking, she's lazy and always just sits in front of the computer all day playing games and sleeping. **

**Me: I HEARD THAT KAEDE!**

**Kaede: Oops, urm, anyway, Kaede totally agrees that Mina is really really nice! She always helps Kaede with her homework and even lets Kaede eat at her and her brother's restaurant! Their food is really tasty! And as for Catherine, yup! She's really pretty. Kaede was kinda surprised to find out that she was Singaporean because Kiyu-Senpai is Singaporean as well but has a completely different accent that sounds even weirder.**

**Me: KAEDE!**

**Kaede: Mike does look really really strong but he seems really nice :) As for Pat, well, he's Pat, the day he stops joking around is probably the day the world ends! **

**Alice: Kae, the world already ended.**

**Kaede: Oh, urm well, then, Kaede doesn't know… :/ Oh urm, Ginger! Ginger seems kind of clueless-**

**Alice: Like you. ;P**

**Kaede: Hey! That's mean! Urm, anyway, Ginger seems a little closed off but Kaede thinks she's a nice person really. As for Wolf… Well… She's Wolf, I guess… Kyo-tan is really nice to Kaede! But why do you feel bad for him? :O**

**Alice: This girl is hopeless. *facepalm**

**Kaede: *Tries to whack Alice but misses. Urm, it feels kind of weird when Onee-Chan touches me **_**there**_**… Kaede feels a bit uncomfortable :/ **

** SnowWhit3 We'd all love for you to send us a child to join our group! Kaede wants to be able to protect someone too :D**

** OtakuNeko13 Everyone is glad that you enjoyed it! And yes, Kaede was quite worried about Kiyu-Senpai the other day. :/ She really looked like she could barely even walk. **

** Hikari-Angel143 and ShinBP Kaede is glad that you enjoyed it and Kiyu-Chan is blushing from your compliments :D She hopes that you will continue to enjoy future chapters as that's her motivation to write! And Hikari-Angel143 Kaede was really glad when we ran into Mina! Kaede was so happy to know that Mina was alright because she was one of Kaede's best friends!**

** Ancientblue Yeah, Kiyu-Senpai was really really sick when she wrote the last chapter, Kaede is surprised she even managed to stay awake. When she was writing, she was resting her head on her hand and she sneezed so hard, she knocked her head into her cupboard wall and screamed!**

**Me: KAEDE ELISE HADLEY, I SWEAR TO GOD.**

**Kaede: Oops, I think Kiyu-Senpai is regretting letting me talk to you guys ._. But but, David is actually really nice, maybe I'm not as supportive as I was for Alice to get together with him but he's really a good guy outside of romance. Oh urm, who are Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe? **

**Alice: Kae, they're Ron Weasley and Harry Potter.**

**Kaede: Oh! Wow, that's like the perfect description of Pat's face. :O**

**Pat: Thank you, thank you, I was always told I had the face for stardom. **

**Kaede: I'm quite surprised Wolf ended up taking the Bokken from you. We all thought she wouldn't help and that's why no one asked her ._. Oh and I still don't understand why Alice liking David is such a big deal.**

**Alice: Of course you don't Kae…**

**Kaede: Anyway, that's all for now :D Kiyu-Senpai has to sleep now and she's waiting for me to finish so Kaede'll end it off here! :) The next chapter will probably be up soon if Kiyu-Senpai isn't a lazy bum and actually writes it. Oop, I think she's coming over to strangle me now. Anyway, oyasumi minna! See you in the next chapter! :D 3**


	8. NOTE!

**IMPORTANT**

Okie, well, I've received quite a lot of OCs already, about 17 or 18 or so I think, so for the time being I'll be closing OC submission until I got full Akame Ga Kill and raise some major death flags. However, this doesn't mean you can't send me anymore OCs, because I will end up using new OCs in future, I just can't fit anyone else into the current cast. If I really like the character, I will make an exception though :) PS, I'll be writing the new chapter in a couple of days or so, there's an OC I really really want to introduce so stay tuned! That's all for now!

See you, minna!


	9. Chapter 5: Breakout!

**Note: Konnichiwa, Minna! Well, not really, it's actually 06.30 in the evening right now haha. Aaannnyyyyyway, I was supposed to write this chapter a week ago but I got urm, sidetracked. I've been soooooo busy with submissions as well as team training so I only really managed to get writing time today. :/ Therefore Kiyumie-Chan is punishing herself by forcing herself to write even though she's sleepy and lazy ^.^ Anywho, lets get started!**

**Yuki**

Kuro's fur was soft and comforting to touch with my fingers but it did nothing to soothe the agony in my heart. How could anything? I had watched my best friend get eaten alive and that's just it. I _watched._ Watched and did nothing… More sobs escaped my throat as I tried to choke back my tears to no avail. I sat in the tree, cradling my puppy husky, Kuro, as though he was life itself and watched the dead people stumble around below me, trying to find out where the sounds of my sobs were coming from. I sat there, alone, the guilt of running from the death of my best friend, even though he had told me to, tearing me apart from the inside. Shu was dead, and so was the world.

**Kyle**

I took a look at the broomstick in my hands and frowned. I had been such a moron, a room filled with baseball bats and other good weapons and I decided to walk around looking like a Janitor. I sighed and looked back at Taka and Mike chatting each other up as we got into position to rush onto the carpark. The three of us had hit off pretty well which I guess was no surprise given Mike's super friendly demeanor and Taka being one of the most chill people I'd ever met. I wondered how he managed to become the student council VP. I looked at the only girl leader of our group, Feli, and saw two of the other girls, one of the small ones, Kaede and her best friend, Alice, staying close behind the leading girl. Guess she filled the role of big sister pretty well. The thought of a best friend put a fresh ache in my heart. Thank god Matt wasn't here today, my older half-brother had skipped school because, well, he could. My best friend, Ivy, however, was not so lucky. I'd seen her getting torn apart by the math teacher Mrs Green. The memory sent a shiver down my spine and I pushed it away, vowing to mourn Ivy under better circumstances. I lowered my body into a combat ready position, holding the broomstick like a spear, as Feli opened the door to freedom, and a horde of undead.

**Feli**

I thought I was prepared for what I was about to see after the hallway, but nothing could have prepared us for the hundreds of undead filling the carpark. Just about everyone in school, students and staff alike, had tried to make a run for it only to be ravaged moments away from escape. I wondered if anyone had managed to get out. Several bodies, Fred and human alike, littered the floor as well. Guess you don't turn if your body's already too far gone. Quickly pushing down the nausea rising in my throat, I quickly scanned for vehicles that could hold us, vans, buses, anything. I was rewarded when I spotted a 6 seater on the far end along with a van that was covered in graffiti. Damned hippies.

_Zombies take over the world and we're going to be driving around in the Mystery Machine_.

Those were the only decently sized vehicles within reach so the last vehicle would have to be a normal car. I grabbed Kaede's free hand, her other hand grasping tightly to Alice's and a pang of jealousy rose within me that I fought to ignore. I motioned for the others to follow slowly behind. I wanted to sneak by the Freds as far as we could. There were a lot more Freds out here than in the halls but the open space helped a lot and they were spread out, giving us more breathing room.

"Okay, I'll take the 6 seater, Mina, you take the van. And Wolf, take whatever the hell you want but at least 3 are going with you." I whispered. Wolf scowled, whether at being told what to do or having to take people with her, I don't know. But she nodded and stayed silent. As we moved across the carpark, a few Freds started wandering towards us and I motioned to the rest to take note. We slowly broke off into three groups, the first being Taka, Kaede, Alice, Ginger, Theo and myself. The second was, Wolf, Kyle, Micheal and David. Finally, Phil led the final group with Mina and everyone else.

We started moving towards our respective vehicles, Wolf taking her group towards a red Hyundai, when I heard an engine. A really, really loud engine. We turned towards the gate just in time to see a silver Nissan crash through the gates, shattering its headlights and mowing down several Freds. Every moving head turned towards it, living or otherwise and every Fred in the carpark started towards it as it continued to drive towards the school. Right towards Phil's group.

_What the fuck is that lunatic doing?_

Without thinking, Kaede started shouting at the driver to stop.

"Stop! You're going to hit them!" Surprisingly, I heard the screeching of tires as the driver hit the brakes. Unfortunately, my sweet little airhead had drawn the attention of a good number of Freds.

"Run for it!" We didn't have time to worry about the others. I had the group with the least capable fighters so we had to move fast. I started running, pulling Kaede hard and she almost fell over but she quickly recovered and my entire group sprinted towards the car. I heard Taka swear from the rear as the Freds ahead start to close in on our path. Not letting go of the other girl's hand, I swung out one-handedly at the closest Fred with my Bokken and felt the hard wood smash into bone as it staggered back and out of our path. My one-handed strikes wasn't strong enough to kill but I settled for simply clearing the path and swiped out at any Fred that got too close. I heard the sounds of bones cracking behind and knew Taka was keeping the flanks clear. I considered telling him to give Kaede his spare Bokken because I knew that despite her size and looks, she was an extremely good fighter. I'd seen her take on 3 other members of the Kendo club at once and floor all of them easily. But I shut the idea out of my head. No way in hell I was letting my little Kae-Chan fight. As we neared the car, I risked a look behind me and saw a horde of Freds closing in behind us. There was no way we could fight that off even with Kaede. I couldn't even see how the others were doing past the mass of undead. Still staring at the scene behind us, I almost ran straight into the car door when Ginger shouted, "Look out!". I instantly dug my heels forward and skidded to a stop, the two smaller girls behind me crashing into my back, almost sending all 3 of us sprawling to the floor.

Wasting no time, I smashed the window, opening the door from the inside when I saw Ginger simply opening the door behind and realizing that it hadn't been locked. I quickly motioned for Theo to get in the back as well, and finally let go of Kaede's hand, letting her get in the back with the other girls. I got in the driver seat as Taka stood on guard, beating down any Fred that got too close but he couldn't hold them off for long.

"Hurry it up, Feli! It's getting real crowded here!" Theo handed me her crowbar from behind and I jammed one end into the bottom of the steering wheel, tearing it open and started pressing wires together.

"It's okay Alice, we'll be alright. Onee-San will get us out of here." I heard Kaede comforting Alice and only then noticed that the other girl was whimpering quietly. She must have been on the verge of losing her mind. I was smiling silently in pride at how brave Kae-Chan was when the engine roared to life and I yelled for Taka to get in. I closed the door as he leapt onto the hood and slid over it, before yanking the side door open and jumping in, panting hard.

"Floor it!" He yelled as he slammed his door shut and not a moment too soon, as the first fingers of the undead touched my window. The car lurched forward and sped off, away from the undead horde and using the brief moment of reprieve, I saw that the others had gotten to their vehicles and were starting to move as well. I sighed in relief as I turned out of the gate. We'd all agreed to meet at my place in 4 hours so for now, I focused on finding the family of those with me. Kaede's house was the nearest so we decided to stop there first, even though she'd said that her mum was out of town. We had only 6 of us so I figured we could pick up some things like clothes and supplied as we went along. The streets in this residential area were pretty clear which wasn't strange considering it was midday on a weekday. Hey that rhymes! Anyway, urm, ahem, point was, it made things easier for us because Taka, Ginger and Theo all lived in the area as well, so there'd be less fighting to do.

We neared Kaede's house when she pointed at a tree across the street where about 6 Freds, the only ones in sight that might pose a threat, were stumbling around. They seemed to be circling the tree which was strange because the only time they stayed close to somewhere was when there was… The reality hit me and Kaede had come to the same conclusion as she was leaning towards the window and looking towards the top of the tree when she gasped.

"Yuki-Chan!"

I looked up and saw a little Japanese girl, no more than 11, quivering in fear, wide-eyed and crying, clutching onto a puppy husky as though her life depended on it. Kaede opened the back door and jumped out before the car had even completely stopped and Theo rushed out behind her, crowbar at the ready. Swearing, I jumped out without cutting the engine as Taka did it for me and followed. Theo only caught up to Kaede when she stopped as a Fred turned towards her and she realized she didn't have a weapon. Theo pulled her back as the Fred reached for her and slammed the sharp end of the crowbar into its skull. Its body went slack instantly.

_Guess Kae-Chan was right about hitting them in the head. Taka must be kicking himself right now._

I shot past Theo as the rest of the Freds noticed we were here, swinging my Bokken in a powerful arc, shattering the skull of another before they had even fully turned. Continuing the momentum, I twirled around in a low roundhouse, kicking the feet from under another one before quickly getting up and bringing down the Bokken like a sledgehammer. The force of the impact smashed its head open like a watermelon and its brains sprayed across the floor and onto my shoes.

"THOSE WERE NEW SHOES YOU FUCKS!" I cried out as I brought the Bokken back up in an uppercut, catching another Fred in the chin and sending it flying backwards. Only then did I notice the Fred that had moved up to my left. My blood froze when I realized it was too close to hit with my Bokken.

"Get down!"

I immediately hit the deck and felt the wind as Taka's Bokken sliced through the air over my head slamming straight into the Fred's forehead. The sound was enough for me to know that it's brain was jam now. I looked up and saw Taka twirl his Bokken once around his hand before doing a lightning fast swing at the final Fred that was advancing on him, ending it instantly. Sighing in relief, Taka held out his hand and helped me to my feet. I turned back to the tree and saw the 4 other girls trying to coax the little girl out of the tree. Taka and I approached them and saw the panic slowly seeping out of the little girl, Yuki, but she still looked frightened to death.

"Yuki-Chan, look, its Kaede! The monsters are gone, you're safe now!" Yuki looked at Kaede and her eyes teared up again, her voice wavering when she spoke, on the verge of crying.

"Kae-San…" She slowly managed before her eyes rolled back into her head and her eyelids closed. I realized too late that she'd passed out and she fell off the branch with the puppy in her arms, who had started barking. Kaede was much quicker and instantly jumped under her to catch the smaller girl, but Kaede wasn't exactly the strongest person on the planet and Yuki wasn't much smaller than Her. Kaede collapsed under her weight, causing them both to crash onto the ground, Kaede's own body cushioned Yuki's fall. I almost giggled when Kaede started groaning because for one insane moment, I couldn't help but think how much this looked like loli hentai.

**Bleh, I wanted to write about the other two groups as well in this chapter but I literally just went brain dead after righting Feli's perspective so ima take a nap and MAAAAYBE write a chapter 5.5 for the other two groups later tonight but for now, this is what I've managed! :D I've got a two week Christmas break so I'll try to get more writing done but no promises cos I might have urm, things I need to do ._.**

**Kaede: Kiyu-Senpai means she might be too lazy to do anything like always.**

**Me: KAE-CHAN!**

**Kaede: Well, well, you made someone else fall on Kaede again! Kaede's back hurts from all the people crushing Kaede :**

**Me: Urgh, fine fine, here, have a lollipop as an apology.**

**Kaede: OH MY GOSH, YAY! *Sticks lollipop in her mouth and starts humming sweetly**

**Alice: Wow. You actually bribed her with candy. That's low.**

**Me: Yes. Yes it is.**

**Patrick: Well, if it works, it works. See Alice? You could have stopped that whole fiasco in the cafeteria with David with just a lollipop!**

**Alice: Pat, I swear to god you damned Leprechaun!**

**Feli: Be nice you two, we're supposed to be talking to the readers here. Hi everyone! I hope you peeps enjoyed this chapter! **

** Awesome D.T Don't worry, if anyone tries to hurt our little Kae-Chan, they're going to have a really bad day with me. :) No one hurts my Kae-Chan's small, nice and soft boobies :P I admit that there's more to David than meets the eye, he's pretty good at thinking on his feet, even with that goofy smile of his. Probably why he's one of our leaders now. Oh, right, thanks for defending me earlier Pat.**

**Patrick: No need to thank me! Just give me the good stuff when we go scavenging for food!**

**Feli: Yeah, don't push your luck ginger boy.**

**Patrick: *****Clutches his chest dramatically***** Urgh, my heart! It's been broken! My feelings have been wounded! Scarred even!**

**Feli: Right… Anyway, yeah! Suck it Kyoya! Kaede is mine! You hear me?! MINE! NO ONE ELSE GETS TO TOUCH HER BOOBS!**

**Kaede*Mumbling with the lollipop still in her mouth: Bhot, bhot, Honeh-Han, it faels hunchomfortable hwhen you touch me there.**

**Feli: *****Gropes Kaede's right boob***** Hush yourself, don't talk with your mouth full.**

**Kaede: *****Blushes and squirms***** Hngh ughn, On-Onee-San!**

**Alice: Oh god, alright, since the two of them are too busy with each other… **

** SnowWhit3 We really appreciate you sending Yuki in! Especially Kaede, I can tell just by looking that Kae absolutely adores her. :) **

** Ancientblue I honestly have no clue how the other group is doing, Pat refuses to tell me how things went on their end but I guess we'll see in the next chapter. God I hope Pat shits his pants so I can give him crap for it, pun intended. :P I hope to god everyone's family is alright but to be honest, I'm not sure I'm overly optimistic about it :( I guess we'll have to see…**

** Everyone else Thanks to everyone for joining us on our adventures! It really means a lot to all of us, especially the writer, Kiyumie for your support! I'm scared to death of who she intends to kill off because when she watched Akame Ga Kill, she was literally crying but at the same time going all like "THIS IS MAKING ME SO SAD, I HAVE TO PUT THIS INTO MY WRITING." All the cast characters were just poker-facing and wondering if we should run for the hills.**

**Kaede: Well urm, I guess that's it for this chapter. :) Kaede wonders what's next for us! Hopefully Kiyumie Senpai will get the next chapter done tonight but if not it should be done some time this week so stay tuned!~~~ Bye bye, minna! **


	10. Chapter 6: Chapter Name (dot) JPG

**Note: Welp, tbh, I'd say this is long enough to be a chapter 6 so ima just leave it as chapter 6 haha I actually started writing this the day after I wrote Chapter 5 but only finished it today on Christmas at 2AM because I had to go for a competition and was dead exhausted for the past two days. I need less events in my life, grrrr. : Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this and rejoice! We're finally out of that damned school after 6 chapters! Hahaha **

**Kiyumie-Chan out~~~~ 3**

**David**

The silver Nissan screeched to a stop barely a few feet away from us, right as I was ready to jump out of the way. The freaking lunatic had not only almost run us over but had rung the dinner bell right next to us. Looking around, I saw that almost every Fred in the carpark was moving towards us, except for a group that had locked onto Kaede's shouting instead. The car door opened and a young Asian man in his early twenties stepped out holding a baseball bat, looking around at us frantically.

"What the hell were you thinking? You just put a damned bull's eye on us." I shot a glance as I spoke at Kaede and Feli's group who were further ahead than the rest of us as they ran for their 6 seater.

"I'm sorry, I'm just worri- Is Samantha with you? Samantha Anderson?" He looked pleadingly at us.

I was so annoyed that I was about to snap back when I realized that the name sounded familiar.

"Samantha Anderson…" I mumbled under my breath. Then it hit me. My eyes widened and suddenly, I felt a strong mixture of awkwardness, sadness and pity for this guy. The girl who was first to have her throat torn out, back in the cafeteria. I remembered her name.

"No, urm, she's urm… I'm so sorry…" What else could be said to someone whose sister had been eaten alive? The guy caught on an immediately fell to his knees, his mouth gaping open like a fish and his eyes starting to water.

"No…"

"David, we gotta go." Phil pulled on my shoulder and I saw how close the Freds were getting. They were close enough that Kyle, Micheal, Catherine and Wolf had to fight off the first ones. The less proficient fighters were staying back and poor Patrick looked like he was about to shit himself. I quickly turned back to the guy on his knees and pulled him up by the shoulders.

"Come with us." The guy didn't respond, clearly in shock, but he followed when I started moving.

"Can we use your car?" He shook his head weakly.

"Something important broke when I crashed through that gate. I could feel it grinding inside the hood."

I swore before shouting to the others to move fast and only fight to clear a path. The van was closer and on the way to the car that Wolf had spotted out so we all pushed towards it together. I swiped away at a few Freds that got too close and heard the sounds of weapons hitting bones behind me as well as Wolf's distinctive voice taunting and hurling insults at the Freds, who were too brain dead to understand. The wall of undead simply pressed towards us, threatening to cut us off as every second passed. All I could do was keep moving and keep fighting.

**Kyoya**

Watching the others fight made me feel useless having to be protected in the middle of everyone. Part of me wanted to join in with the baseball bat I held but another part simply laughed.

_You couldn't even fight off a fangirl and got raped by her and you want to fight the undead? Gee, I wonder how that would work out._

I blushed at myself which was ridiculous and anyone else would probably have thought I was crazy. Patrick was busy ranting, "Oh god" under his breath and looked on the verge of a panic attack. It was weird seeing him like this considering his usual sassy attitude. I'd wanted to go together with Kaede but I lived on the completely opposite side of town from her so I was forced to go with Mina's group instead. Speaking of whom she was faring far better than Patrick was, while looking frightened, was able to keep it under control and remain quiet as we followed David and Phil towards the van. The newcomer who had almost run us over was a young man, around his late teens with skin similar to Kaede's, fought alongside David with a baseball bat, his ridiculously feminine features contorting in an expression of pure sorrow and grief. I hadn't heard the exchange between him and David but clearly it hadn't been pleasant.

I turned to the back as we moved and watched the rear guards, Phil and Catherine smite down any Fred that got too close. The skill they both wielded their weapons with was more than obvious, Phil was almost casually letting the Freds lunge at him before side-stepping and cutting through their skulls like they were paper with his swords. Catherine was artfully plunging the edges of her hook swords into the Fred's skulls before they could even get close to her. Neither of them looked too stressed. The rest of the capable fighters were guarding the flanks and Wolf looked simply berserk, smashing skulls like they were eggs with her Bokken and shouting strings of detailed insults. It almost seemed like we were in no trouble at all but then I saw the hundreds of Freds closing in on us and I knew it didn't matter how good our fighters were, they simply couldn't take on so many at once. We picked up the pace and got to the van quickly before David gestured to the newcomer.

"Go with these guys, they'll need you more than us. They'll fill you in on what our plans are."

The newcomer simply nodded with a dead expression.

_What on earth had David said to him?_

Wolf, David, Kyle and Michael broke off and moved towards another car as Mina tried to open the driver seat door.

"It's locked."

Wasting no time, Phil reversed the grip on his right hand sword before slamming the hilt into the glass, shattering it. He reached in and opened the door from the inside before Mina quickly jumped in and started hotwiring the car. She unlocked the rest of the doors as well, and the others started climbing into the back while Phil and Catherine stood guard, holding off the line of Freds. There weren't too many who had managed to get close but that would change very, very soon, the mass of the horde slowly but steadily advancing towards us. I tried to get a look at how Kaede was doing but it was no use, I couldn't see anything past the wall of undead. For one of the few times in my life, I swore before climbing into the back. Just as I sat down, the van roared to life and Mina shouted for Phil and Catherine to get in. The van was moving within seconds, leaving the majority of the horde in our dust.

"I see Feli and David's cars, they made it out as well." Phil announced from the front and I heaved a sigh of relief.

_Kae-Chan is safe. Thank god she's safe. If she wasn't…_

I refused to even let my mind go there. She might not seem like it, but Kaede was tough, you could see it in her eye, a kind of ferocity that she probably wasn't even aware of herself was inside her. I rested my head against the wall of the van as we left our dead school behind.

**Patrick**

_Thank Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Chuck Norris and whoever the hell else Alice wasn't around to see me freak out._

I'd finally managed to calm down in the safety of the van and I knew just how hysterical I had been out there. I knew I was a coward, not question, but hey, not even someone as awesome and sassy as me was perfect. I took relief in the knowledge that Alice hadn't seen it or she'd never let me off the hook, especially after the shenanigans about David. I pushed that aside and thought a silent prayer for my friends in the other group. Even though I knew they had two capable fighters and that under all that huggable lovableness Kaede was extremely kick-ass, I couldn't help but worry for my two best friends. As much as I teased them, the two meant the world to me and I didn't know what I would do if something happened to them. A small smile crept across my face as the memory of how we met slipped to the surface of my thoughts.

_I peeked around the corner watching John at his locker, even the smallest of movements highlighting the contours of his perfectly toned muscles. I knew he was straight and that he'd never accept me but hey, a guy can dream and have eye candy can't he? _

"_What are you doing?" _

_I jumped and squealed like a little girl, spinning around and jumping back, doing an exaggerated kung fu pose to hide my surprise. I never said I wasn't a drama queen. I saw two dark-haired girls, one only slightly shorter than me with long wavy hair flowing down her back and the other much smaller with extremely long bangs that covered the right half of her face and the back pulled up in a left side ponytail. The taller one's dark eyes twinkled a little as she stifled a laugh at both my reaction and what I had been caught doing while the other one simply stared curiously at me with her one visible hazel eye. The innocence practically radiated off her._

"_I was uh, urm, admiring the view, it's a lovely day isn't it?"_

"_We're indoors."_

"_So? Doesn't change the fact that it's a lovely day!"_

_The smaller girl poked her head around the corner and saw John closing his locker door and walking down to the other end of the hallway. She turned back to me with a questioning look._

"_Were you staring at that guy?"_

"_Urm, maybe?" I cursed myself for not denying it but how does one even lie to someone this innocent? It's a crime against nature!_

"_Do you like him?" I stared back at her not sure of how to respond. The taller girl giggled and smiled sweetly at me, like she knew something I didn't. I was honestly past caring about people judging my homosexuality but something about this girl just made me afraid of what her opinion on me might be. I cautiously nodded and she nodded back, her mouth curling into a sweet smile that would give sugar-deprived man diabetes. _

"_Why don't you go talk to him?" I blinked. Not what I was expecting. _

"_Because we're both guys."_

"_So? What's wrong with that?" I couldn't believe it, and it obviously showed on my face because the taller girl burst out laughing._

"_I'm sorry, excuse my friend's airheadedness-"_

"_Hey! Kaede is not airheaded!"_

"_Ahem, yeah anyway as I was saying, Kaede here is really… different. She see's things in her own way but she's right. There's nothing wrong with being gay." _

_I stared at them and they both had the most genuine smiles I had ever seen in my life. I thought I had convinced myself that there was nothing wrong with me, that I was not a freak, but to hear someone I didn't even know say it, to tell me straight up that there was nothing wrong with me. It was all I could do not to burst into tears right there and then. The taller girl raised her hand and I shook it._

"_I'm Alice, this is Kaede." The smaller girl tilted her head to the left, causing her bangs to fall from her right eye, or rather where it should have been. There was a huge scar that ran from her brow to her cheek and her right eye was completely milky white, obviously blinded. She seemed to notice that she had accidentally revealed this and blushed before quickly setting her bangs back into place. Then she meowed at me. No she didn't just say "meow", she actually freaking meowed, she sounded exactly like a kitten. This was going to be the start of a very interesting friendship._

"_Patrick. You can call me Pat."_

The memory left me feeling rosy and I silently prayed for the two girls' safety once more. Trying to lighten the mood, I tried to strike up conversation with the newcomer.

"Hey there! I'm Patrick, I would say it's a beautiful day and that it's nice to meet you but the world has ended and I think you almost ran us over back there." I piped cheerfully. He looked up at me with red eyes and I realized he had been crying.

_Damn it. Totally the wrong approach._

"Mashona Naiyuuki. The first name is Naiyuuki but you can call me Mashona."

"Kinda long, think I could shorten it to Shona? You can call me Pat in return."

He nodded half-heartedly and I cleared my throat.

"I would ask what you were doing at our school but I'm not an idiot. I'm sorry for your loss."

He nodded gratefully and remained quiet, looking back down at his feet. Taking the hint, I stayed silent as well and let my mind drift off for a bit before he started talking again, surprising me.

"I completely forgot, can we stop by a nearby house? There's someone who helped me out that I promised to meet and I think he could help us out too."

I nodded and relayed this to the front and we changed course to accommodate the minor detour.

**Feli**

I stood in the doorway Kaede baby the little girl lying unconscious on her bed. She'd completely panicked when Yuki had passed out and had insisted that she take care of the little girl even though I was pretty sure her ankle was twisted. Alice was busy moving around the room, packing clothes and other personal items of Kaede's into a large camping rucksack that she'd pulled out of the storeroom.

Kaede's room had rather surprised me, I had thoroughly expected her to be a complete girly girl and while her bed was completely covered in plush toys, the rest of her room was quite contrasting. There were video game and anime posters all over the walls along with dinosaur figurines lining shelves. Her desk housed a high end computer that had neon lights and a see through casing with the desktop dominated by a complex looking keyboard and a large mousepad with a gaming mouse on it. Funny, she'd never mentioned she was a gamer. Her love for anime was also clearly obvious from the numerous cosplay costumes in a wardrobe meant specifically for them and the countless anime statues that lined her tables.

Ginger and Theo were scouring the kitchen and the rest of the house for any supplies such as food, batteries, water and the like. I'd sent Taka to see if he could find any way to contact of find Kaede's mother while I watched over her. Yuki started stirring and Kaede gasped, quietly but anxiously saying her name.

"Kae-San…" The little girl mumbled as she opened her disorientated eyes.

"Yes, Kae-San is here with you, Yuki-Chan." She ran her hand through Yuki's hair and rubbed her hand with her other hand. I absently wondered if this was what it looked like between Kaede and me but decided otherwise, considering Kaede wasn't groping the younger girl. Without warning, Yuki buried her face into Kaede's chest and started bawling. Alice paused what she was doing and looked. Even I started to feel an ache in my chest at the sound of such raw pain coming from such a young child. Kaede pulled the crying girl close to her and tried her utmost to soothe her with her voice. At some point, she started singing _Ichiban no Takaramono_ from the anime Angel Beats softly as Yuki's cries slowly died into ragged sobs. This was the first time I had ever heard her sing and I was taken aback by how melodic Kaede's voice was.

_Oh Kae-Chan. Will you never run out of reasons for me to love you?_

My thoughts were interrupted when I felt a tapping on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Taka staring at me with a grim look and worry instantly filled my mind.

"What's wrong?"

He simply gestured with his head to follow him and after one last look at Kaede, I followed reluctantly to Kaede's mother's bedroom.

"I found this in one of the drawers, hidden in an envelope. I think you should see it." He handed me a series of papers and I gave him a look, wondering what on earth I would possibly be interested in about Kaede's mother's affairs. As I scanned the pages, I found that it was a legal report on a case from about 3 years before. The more I read, the more my skeptism faded, and the more my shock and horror grew. I read on and on about how Kaede was subjected to heavy drug dosages hypnotism and psychiatric aid after she had endured years of abuse and the loss of her eye at the hands of her stepfather, and was forced to watch her younger sister get raped and murdered right in front of her. But what horrified me the most was how my sweet, adorable and innocent little Kae-Chan, had brutally tortured and murdered her stepfather in return.


	11. Chapter 7: Loss

**Note: Hello minna! Happy Holidays! Urm, a quick note, I'm going to try and update at least once a week but I'm not sure if I can do more, I'll try but my next term is going to be a huge rush and I'm starting my driving lessons (Yes, Kiyumie on the road, god help us all). Sorry for slowing down so much! I've also been having a bad case of writers block that always comes around this point in writing but Kiyumie shall persist! Well, here we go!**

**Wolf**

I felt the adrenalin slowly drain out of the system as the car rolled down the black top, leaving the high school behind. The three numbnuts in the car with me stayed completely silent, probably scared that I'd break someone's jaw. Good, that was just the way I liked it. I wanted to play some tunes on the radio but whoever had owned this piece of shit had nothing but queer music in their music player.

The four of us were the only ones who lived in the somewhat secluded north part of town, where there was only one neighborhood. We would split into pairs to save time since all four of us could fight well, and I guess even I had to give them credit, the three with me weren't completely useless. I honestly couldn't give two shits about Cath, my "mum", like she ever gave a shit about me anyway. But there was someone else at home I could never leave behind, the only one I cared about. Besides, I could do with a change of clothes with my hoodie completely covered in Fred blood.

The drive might have taken a while but the roads were pretty clear but then again, who the fuck would be driving to work in the middle of the apocalypse? I figured anyone with a working ride and weren't dumb and sentimental teenagers like our group would have high tailed out of town by now. The only cars around were sitting on the sides of the roads, where their owners had left them. The Freds were everywhere but they seemed to mostly be on the sidewalks, munching on the former residents of Comet. I found that I wasn't as horrified at what the world had become as I should have been. The world was fucked before anyway, now it was just fucked in a different way. At least now I could smash heads and not get arrested.

I pulled the car over in a deserted alleyway upon entering our neighborhood, devoid of movement, living or otherwise. Ever watched a post-apocalyptic film? Leaving your car in the open is the best way to get it stolen and fuck if I had to walk all the way to that little mafia bitch's house. I didn't really want to go with them but I wasn't stupid, contrary to what others might think, tough as I was, I stood a much better chance with a group than on my own. Besides, the girl pretty much ran her own mafia family; she might have some cool toys to play with. I smiled a little at the thought of mowing down a horde of Freds with a big machine gun. The others got out as I cut the engine and I saw Mike and Kyle go together.

_Great, I get to go with the goofball._

David was grinning goofily at me when I got out of the car, the other two walking their own way further down the street.

"I _will_ hurt you." I growled.

"I don't doubt it." He replied with an exceedingly annoying cheerful tone.

Still scowling, I shoved past him and started walking towards my house, which was the closer of the two. I made the effort to act as though he wasn't there, even though I could hear his footfall behind me in the deathly silence. I paused for a moment. It was completely silent save for our footsteps, no birds, insects, nothing, not even the moans of the undead. Dragging the Bokken on the floor to create some ambient noise, I picked up the pace as we stepped onto my driveway. The excitement exploded through me the closer I got to the one and only thing I cared about. Nearing the door, I heard heavy padded footfall and then the sound of scratching on the door, causing my excitement to climax. I tore open the door and a large furry form immediately leapt onto me, licking my face all over. I broke into a laugh and scrubbed the fur on the Siberian Husky's neck, happiness flowing through me that he was safe.

"Bear! You overgrown furball! You're alright!" He gave a happy bark in response and proceeded to nuzzle me with his nose and I laughed again, getting onto my knees before hugging him, pressing my ear into his fur.

"Who'd have thought, guess the scary lady has a soft spot after all." I turned and saw David grinning at me, as though he'd just thought of something amusing. Normally, I might have slugged him right there and then but I was so happy at being reunited with Bear, I actually smiled back at him, not bothering with a retort.

_Who knows, maybe he's right. _

**Mike**

_No… Please god, no…_

I took a step back for every step the corpse in front of me stepped towards me. I could feel just how wide my eyes had gone and my mouth gaping wide open. Kyle was standing a bit further back, unsure of what to do but completely prepared to step in if things got out of hand.

"Dad…" All I got in response were moans, confirming that my father was long gone.

From the moment I opened the front door, I could smell the death in the air. Sure enough, two Freds came shambling out of the living room and both Kyle and myself dropped them instantly and simultaneously. I already knew what that meant but couldn't, wouldn't believe it until I saw it for myself and here it was, right in front of my eyes, staring at me with cold dead eyes. I subconsciously wondered how the Freds had got in anyway but it was pretty obvious. My dad was the kind of guy who would try to help no matter what and probably saw that they'd been bitten and tried to help them and let them in before they turned. What did it matter? Knowing how it happened didn't do jack shit. My dad was gone. I starting stepping forward, closing the distance between me and the empty shell that had once been Daniel Bhennet.

"Mike…" I hastened my pace, ignoring Kyle. This was something I had to do myself.

With a soft choke and a sob, I raised the pipe into a striking position.

"I'm sorry Dad, I love you." I choked.

It was over in an instant. Without a second glance, I did a full 180 and headed straight for the front door. I heard Kyle's running footsteps as he caught up with me.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay a while? Pack some things?" He asked with concern.

"No. I'll borrow your clothes if you don't mind." He nodded respectfully as we stepped out of my house and I shut the door, leaving the house as a tomb.

"There's nothing left for me here."

**Brandon**

I raised my rifle and aimed at the door when I heard the footsteps at the front door. My little 10 year old half sister, Alexandra cowered behind me, the occasional sobs escaping her throat. When I'd came home to find my mother infected and shambling around the house, I'd been completely heartbroken. Not wanting to leave her in her state, I'd been forced to put her down and I'd almost considered ending myself as well when I heard a thumping sound in the kitchen. I'd investigated to noise to find my younger sister hiding in the washing machine, having been put in there by my mother who'd been bitten to protect my sister from her.

We'd spent hours crying together before I managed to pull myself together enough to pack up supplies, clothes and my weapons from my gun cabinet. Armed with "Volo" my Colt LE6020 SOCOM, "Augie" my Colt 1911 handgun in addition to my knife, I was now a force to be reckoned with. I heard knocking on the door before a voice started calling for me from behind it.

"Brandon? You there? It's Mashona! If you're there open up!" I sighed in relief and lowered my rifle. The kid I'd saved who went to look for his sister. He made it after all. I quickly moved to open the door, Lex grabbing my shirt and staying close to me.

My relief soon faded when I saw Mashona's face the moment I opened the door. He looked like hell, his eyes were completely red and his face was contorted in barely controlled pain. It didn't take a genius to realize what had happened, and I simply nodded in sympathy as he returned the gesture. I peered behind him and saw a group of teenagers standing around a van, waiting for us. Mashona explained how they had met and what they intended to do. I nodded and agreed to go with them, seeing safety in numbers. Besides, we weren't going to be the last to lose people today.

**Feli**

"But she's completely different right? She doesn't remember it at all. That's why she's the way she is now."

"Yes, her memories and the records were altered to make it seem like a bus crash. But it also says here that it's entirely possible for her memories to come back."

"But it's not likely right? I mean look at all the shit going on around us and she hasn't shown any signs of a relapse yet has she?"

"Feli, when she stood up against Wolf, you didn't see her face but I did. Her eye was practically glowing red and her expression? That wasn't your Kaede."

I grabbed the desk for support, my knees suddenly turning to jelly. I sat onto the desk, refusing to believe the revelations that had been dumped upon me. Taka softened, gently putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Look, I know what she means to you. I'm not saying we leave her behind. Just… We just need to keep an eye on her is all." I looked up at him and saw that his emerald green eyes had turned soft. I realized that he genuinely cared about Kaede as well.

_Plus one to the list of people who have fallen under the airhead spell._

I suddenly felt a rush of sadness at just how little I knew about Kaede. Even though this was something even Alice probably didn't know about, I had come to realize that for a person who meant so much to me, I really knew nothing about her. I thought of the countless scars I'd seen all over Kaede's body in the locker room when she was changing into a sports outfit. She'd always said that she'd got them in the same bus crash that had taken her right eye. Now I knew the truth that she herself didn't know. My heart ached when I thought of all the pain Kaede had to endure over the years and honestly wondered how she wasn't more damaged than she already was.

"We keep this to ourselves. No one needs to know except the two of us and we can watch over her ourselves."

Taka nodded, knowing that others in the group might not be as understanding. I smiled gratefully at him and felt incredibly lucky to have someone like him with me in the shit storm that the world had become. I shoved the papers back into the desk drawer before we both left the room, Taka going to help Ginger and Theo gather supplies and myself returning to the doorway of Kaede's room where I saw that Alice had gone to help the two girls as well, leaving the two small forms alone. Yuki had fallen asleep in Kaede's arms as the older girl carefully brushed her hair with her hand. From where I stood, Kaede looked like an angel sent straight from heaven and I ain't even religious. In spite of everything I'd just learned about her, I couldn't help but feel the warmth in my heart just by looking at her.

_I won't let you become a monster again, Kae-Chan. I swear. _

**Bleh, it's 2 A.M right now and I'm really sleepy, so ima post my replies to the reviews tomorrow hehehe I hope you enjoyed this chapter minna! Oyasumi ^.^**


	12. Chapter 8: I wrote this late at night xD

**Catherine**

The reprieve of the drive was nice but all good things had to come to an end I guess. The moment we got out of the van, all the former residents of the neighborhood started their assault on us. Being the two best fighters other than the soldier guy, Brandon, in the group, we took the front while he did clean up with Mashona watching the back. I felt bad for the Japanese guy, news about his half-sister spread pretty quickly in our rag tag group of survivors. I guess I was similar in that I'd lost my mum as well but she died when I was 3 and I never knew her so it never had as big of an impact as it might have on me. Most of us except for Phil lived in this neighborhood. Well, it is a pretty small town apart from downtown. Luckily for us, it meant the streets weren't as crowded as they might be. We decided that the best course of action would be to clear out every Fred in the surrounding area since we were going to be here a while.

"See the 5 on the right, by the yellow car?" I turned my head casually in the direction that Phil had indicated. Sure enough, 5 shambling corpses slowly stumbled in our direction, having heard the van's engine. I nodded and strolled towards them, flexing the muscles in my arms as I held my hook swords. You don't even want to know how I smuggled them into my locker at school. I took a glance behind me and saw Phil breaking off to deal with another group of Freds while the other two fighters stayed with the 3 less combat inclined individuals of our group. Good old sword and shield strategy. Turning back to my foes, I slowed my pace so that my next step would put me just within striking distance of the first Fred as they hungrily moaned for my flesh.

"Diam la," I said in singlish, which means shut up, as twirled my entire body, swinging the edge of the hook straight into the Fred's skull, killing it instantly. Without breaking a stride I used the hook to pull the body out of the way and took a step forward in the same movement, raising the second blade and plunging it straight down into the top of the second Fred's skull in a cartwheel movement, instantly eliminating almost half the threat in a single combo. I freed my blades from the skulls of my first two kills before sizing up my last three enemies. The deaths of their companions didn't faze them at all but I guess that comes with the package of being completely brain dead. I stood up straight to my full height of 5'7'', letting the Freds get almost close enough to touch me. I casually side stepped as the vanguard tried to grab me and it stumbled forward, its head falling straight onto the carefully orientated blade in my left hand, piercing straight through. Stepping forward, I tore the blade out of its head before stabbing it straight into the chin of the second one in an uppercut, piercing all the way to the brain while simultaneously slashing through the final Fred's neck, completely decapitating it.

Removing my blades from the bodies, I shook the gore off them before turning around to see that Phil had made short work of the other group of Freds as well.

He turned to me and nodded, before shouting to the rest of the group, giving the all clear. We started walking towards Mina's family restaurant when it suddenly occurred to me what I might find at my house and my heart lurched, knowing what the chances were of my father still being alive. As we moved to face what everyone feared, I steeled myself, trying to prepare myself for the worst possible outcome.

**Mina**

Stepping through the front doors of my family restaurant, that also doubled as my home, filled me with trepidation. When we had all made plans to go find our families no one had been willing to say it but with the state things were, it was more than likely that there'd be nothing left to find. The fact that dishes and utensils littered the floor all over the floor around the tables did not make the situation optimistic. My brother was a neat freak and if things were like this, something had definitely gone down here. I pushed my glasses up higher on the bridge of my nose and opened my mouth to call out for Christian, my brother. Before the sound could leave my throat, a finger was placed on my lips. I turned and saw Phil shaking his head as he stepped in front of me, slowly starting to sweep the room. I saw the other fighters do the same with the remainder of us, Patrick, Lex, Kyoya and me staying close to the front door.

I felt completely useless at not even being able to search my own home but I knew that if push came to shove, not only was I a rubbish fighter, but the sight of blood would have turned my knees to jelly. It was a wonder I'd managed to get through the carpark with all the fighting and blood around. Trying to ease the tension, Patrick spoke.

"I love what you did with the place, really looks like it was all the rage." He gestured to the mess, making me giggle a little.

"Well, it usually isn't this messy but I guess the party got a little rowdy today."

"No kidding, you know the party is wild when people start eating each other. Makes me wonder if your food was so bad, it made people want to eat others."

I punched him softly in the shoulder and we both laughed quietly, both at the joke and also at how crazy of a day it had been that we were taking pleasure in such morbid humor.

"All clear! Nobody's home." Phil called from the kitchen. I felt both relieved and disappointed. Even though my brother wasn't here, at least we didn't find… well, his corpse. I immediately ran to my room, in the house portion of the building. If Christian left a note of any kind, it'd be where he knew I'd check. I heard footsteps thumping behind me and turned to see both Phil and Patrick following me.

_My heroes. _I thought absently and sarcastically.

Sure enough, when I stepped through the doorway, I saw a notepad sitting on my drawer, words scribbled hastily on the front page. I snatched it up and read it out loud.

"Mina, I hope to god you're alright, the entire town is in chaos, this shit is everywhere! According to the news, its not just Comet but just about every population center in the USA, maybe even the world. For now, the military has set up an evacuation zone outside of town. Soldiers are gathering up everybody to bring us there. I don't want to go without you but if I stay here, I'll probably be dead before I even see you again. I'm going to try and get some soldiers there to help me get to the school but if you manage to see this, meaning you're already out of there, head straight to the evacuation zone. Just follow the main road past the gas station. Be safe, Mina, I love you. Christian." By the time I got to my brother's name, my voice had dropped to a whisper.

"Well well, for once in their lives, the military isn't completely useless." Patrick chimed. I felt the relief soar through me, knowing that my brother was among armed soldiers. This also meant that once we met up with Feli and the rest, we would have somewhere to go.

"Alright, pack up your things, clothes, whatever. If what your brother said is true, then everyone's family is probably there as well." Phil noted which made sense since everyone would want to try and get soldiers to rescue their kids from the school. I wondered if they were there now, trying to find us right after we had escaped from that hell. I grabbed a large travelling backpack from my closet and kneeled next to my wardrobe, shoving my clothing into the bag with newfound determination.

_You're alright, Christian. And so am I. I'm coming._

**Taka**

"Alright, that's the last of it!" I called out after dumping the last of the supply bags filled with canned food and water into the boot of the land rover. I leaned against the car, running my hand through my snow white hair, staring at the 6 full bags dumbfounded. Kaede had enough non-perishable food to supply a post-apocalyptic shelter, pun not intended. Kaede had said that her mum was seldom at home so had stocked the house with tons of canned food and bottled water. Kaede shyly said that she seldom ate them as she usually went to Mina's or Alice's to eat and get help with her homework. Regardless, it was a great find that would last us a while. Feli walked up to the back of the car and nodded approvingly as the other girls walked out the front door, Yuki clinging tightly to Kaede's right arm as the older girl kept her close as her puppy, Kuro followed behind. Feli turned to them and nodded to Alice.

"Your house is just down the street right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, the street is mostly clear so there's no need for all of us to go. I'll go with you while the others wait here and watch the car."

Not surprisingly, Kaede protested upon being excluded.

"I want to come! Alice is Kaede's best friend!" She stated firmly. Gotta give the girl credit, the determination practically dripped in her voice. Feli smiled sadly at her, and I already knew that there was no way she was letting Kaede out of safety as far as she could help it, especially after what we had just found out.

"No Kae-Chan, you're staying here with the others, where its safe."

"Why do you keep acting like I'm useless and need to be protected!" All eyes turned to the one-eyed girl, whose outburst was not expected by anyone. The look on her face shocked me as it was definitely not that of the sweet innocent girl that we knew Kaede to be. Her hazel eye had a reddish glint to it that unnerved me. It was the same look that she had had when she had stood up to Wolf.

_Not good._

Only Feli and I knew what was the cause of this side of her and it was slowly creeping to the surface. I turned nervously to Feli, who looked both shocked and afraid, afraid of Kaede's memories resurfacing. Trying to defuse the situation, she forced a soft smile that was at least partly genuine.

"I don't think you're useless Kae-Chan. But if you come with us, who will protect Yuki-Chan?" This seemed to calm her down somewhat as I saw some of her anger seep away and her eye turn back to normal. Reluctantly, she nodded before turning around and walking back into the house dejectedly, Yuki in tow as she gestured for Kuro to follow. Alice watched her best friend disappear into the house with an extremely worried look on her face.

"I've never seen her like that before…"

"It's been a long stressful day. Even Kaede has her limits." I chimed in, trying to push us away from the subject. Ginger and Theo shared a look before walking back into the house as well.

"I guess…" Alice whispered but did not sound in any way convinced. Feli gave me a final affirming nod before whispering to Alice to come on. The two started a brisk pace down the street, Feli armed with her Bokken and Alice with a baseball bat. I returned to the doorsteps and sat down, keeping a lookout and finally finding the time to lose myself in my own thoughts.

I finally found the time to think of my family and worry for my younger half sister instantly overwhelmed me. Little Annabelle had been home sick today with my older sister, Amane, watching over her. I told myself that Amane was more than capable of defending the both of them, having been through the same hellish martial arts trainings forced upon us by our biological mother. Given the choice, I'd never have wanted to go through that hell but while I hated to admit it, it had come in handy in today's circumstances.

I took off my jacket and tied it around my waist before fiddling with the heart-shaped pendant around my neck to relax myself.

_They'll be just fine. You'll get home and probably see 50 Fred corpses at the doorstep from Amane's handiwork._

I smiled when I recalled a time when Amane and I had sparred and she'd mopped the floor with me. I continued replaying the fond memory as I got up to go check on Kaede and Yuki. I asked Ginger where she was and was told that Kaede and Yuki were in her room. I found that her door was shut so I gently knocked before calling out to her.

"Kaede? It's Taka. I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"Urm, Kae-San says she's alright." A cute yet competitive voice replied. I hadn't actually taken note of what Yuki sounded like until now.

"That's good. Can I come in?"

"No!" The reply had been sharp and desperate, as though Yuki was trying to find an excuse to deny me entry. That was the first sign that something was wrong and my heart lurched.

_No way. God, I'm so stupid!_

I immediately threw the door open, already knowing that Kaede would be nowhere in sight. I saw Yuki standing next to the bed, looking extremely distressed while Kuro simply sat on the bed with a bored look but worst of all, I saw Kaede's bedroom window hanging wide open. How had it not occurred to me that she'd try something like this? Air-headed as she was, the girl was wicked smart.

_Feli is going to kill me._

**Feli**

The exchange with Kaede had left us tense and the walk to Alice's place was awkward, to say the least. Probably didn't help that Alice's impression of me was most likely nothing more than someone who molested her best friend. A fair assessment, I guess, since I haven't given her anything else to work with. Wanting to break the ice, I started a conversation with a topic we were both familiar with.

"So Kaede was in an accident before she moved here huh?" Alice looked surprised at the sudden speech and looked at me curiously.

"Yeah, that's what I heard."

"Wait, heard? Shouldn't you know about it? Since you're her best friend and all?"

"Well, it's not exactly polite to go up to someone who was in an accident and ask, 'Hi! I heard you were in an accident? Did it hurt? Did you see people die?'"

"Fair."

"But the truth is, Kaede doesn't remember any of it. The crash damaged her body so bad, her entire body is covered in scars and something damaged her head. Which is why she's, well… Kaede." I felt a guilty sense of pride at knowing that there had never been a crash but it was such a morbid thought, I immediately pushed it away. There was nothing to be celebrated about what happened to Kaede.

"You really do care about her don't you?" The question completely caught me off guard and I almost lost my balance.

"Come again?"

"You do care a lot about Kaede. I didn't notice before but you've been going out of your way to keep her safe and something tells me it isn't just to do with preserving her "nice and soft boobs"." I chuckled at the reference to one of the more pleasant experiences from this crazy day.

"Yeah, how could anyone not love Kaede? I admit, I have feelings for her but she's never going to go for me anyway."

"What? Why? Because she's so oblivious?"

"There's that but mostly because I'm another girl." Alice stopped in her tracks causing me to stop as well and turn to her.

"You know she's bi right?" My brain could not register what I had just heard.

"What?"

"Kaede, the air-headed girl we know and love, is a bisexual. You know, she likes both boys and girls." No words in my vocabulary could describe the overwhelming ecstasy that assaulted me.

_She's bi. Holy shit, she's bi._

Alice's expression turned amused at my obvious reaction to the news and she giggled a little.

"Geez, calm down a little, I can practically see your panties being soaked." I laughed out loud as we came close to Alice's house. The happiness continued to sing in my head but the both of us turned serious as we came up the front porch.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

I opened the door slowly, peering into a dark hallway. Alice found the light switch, illuminating the entire first floor. We slowly moved into the living room, weapons at the ready.

"Mum? Dad?" Alice called out softly. I absently noticed a board of polaroid pictures of Alice and Kaede hanging on the wall as we started towards the kitchen. I guess it would have been realistic to expect it but we'd both been so overly optimistic, we were not prepared to see the infected middle aged woman stumble out from around the corner. I heard Alice choke and drop the bat upon seeing her mother, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"No… Oh god, mum…" She started stumbling backwards, shaking her head in pure, excruciating denial. Stepping in front of the girl, I held out the Bokken, ready to strike and started slowly advancing on that which had been Alice's mother.

"Wait, stop, please…" Alice begged me and I gave her a sad look. Her mother was gone. She would have to accept it in time but I would lay the middle-aged woman to rest for her, even if it made her hate me. It was the least I could do for her. I returned to my target, ignoring Alice's helpless pleas. Suddenly, just as I reached the couch, another Fred, a man, Alice's father I realized, leapt onto me, growling and snapping his teeth at me. I shouted and pushed him back, barely able to keep his teeth from taking a chunk out of me but dropping the Bokken in the struggle. I pushed as hard as I could but he was latched onto me like a flea and refused to let go.

"Get off me!" I pushed and kicked, bringing the struggle across the room and accidentally kicking the Bokken away. I tripped on something and fell on my back, the Fred right on top of me, trying to tear my throat out. In the corner of my eye, I saw that Alice had lost her footing and was staring helplessly at her mother as she advanced on her daughter who would soon be her prey.

"Alice, she's not your mother anymore! You have to kill her!"

"NO! I CANT!" Alice screamed, squeezing her eyes shut and covering her ears.

"Fuck!" I cursed as I continued struggling with her father. At this rate, Alice would be killed in a matter of seconds and so would I when both the Freds teamed up on me. It probably wouldn't have taken that long as I was slowly losing strength while the Fred on top of me maintained his iron grip. My muscles were about to collapse when I heard a loud bone-crunching sound and my face was suddenly splattered with blood, the Fred flying backwards. The strike had been so fast, I had barely registered it and the one who delivered it was already halfway across the room, dashing towards Alice's mother who was almost on top of her daughter. In the blur of motion, I saw a flash of purple that I recognized from a certain someone's hair.

_No…_

I could do nothing to stop Kaede as she forced her entire body's weight an momentum into a single forceful blow that sledgehammered into Alice's mother's skull. I knew Kaede's style of fighting and I knew that no human, undead or living, could withstand a direct hit from that kind of blow. Kaede was small but she had the ability to channel her entire mass supercharged with the momentum from her unreal speed into some of the strongest strikes I had ever seen. The Fred's skull was almost completely obliterated and the force sent its body smashing into the wall, causing its shattered skull to spill brains all over the place. Kaede stood there panting, her eye almost glowing a blood shade of red and her pupil had shrunk till it was barely visible. Only then, upon seeing her like that was I finally completely convinced that everything I had read in her mother's room had not been a mistake.

Alice looked up, looking completely shell-shocked. She stared at the destroyed bodies of her parents who had been ended by her best friend. She turned to Kaede with a look of utter disbelief.

"Kae… You… Killed them…" She stood up and stepped towards her best friend.

Kaede turned to her, her eye slowly turning back to normal and her expression returning back to the sweet soft features I had grown accustomed to.

"I-" That was all Kaede could say before Alice slapped her right across the cheek.

**Hello Minna! Kiyumie-Chan here! Okay so I said that I'd reply to the reviews the other day but I'd started on this new chapter already so I decided I might as well include my replies in it as well ^.^ It's like 3AM here and I just got back from a New Year's dinner where I literally spent $100 on a steak. Sweet jesus I am never trusting my friend again when he says "affordable". I wasn't about to let my boyfriend pay $100 for me either. Also, it felt pretty damned weird writing Singlish in even though it was only one phrase. I am Singaporean but I swear I hate the dialect here. Anywho, on to the replies! This time it'll just be me replying because I think the rest are all busy ._.**

** Ancientblue I usually stay up late during the holidays for one reason of another anyway haha. And naw, Pat is way too classy to make things awkward. Things get awkward, he just Pats it up! And Wolf is definitely one of the better characters to develop haha I firmly believe that everyone is a mix of good and bad and that no one is completely one or the other so definitely, there will be a lot of new things to be found about someone like Fe- I mean Wolf ^.^ To be quite honest, there's only one character who I'm sure is gonna die at this point but as for the rest, I know its gonna happen but I have no clue who or when yet. I guess it depends on my mood when I'm writing :D**

** shadowssj12 I'm sowie! _ I've watched waaaaaaay too much walking dead for my own good so cliffhangers are like a part of me now haha Makes people want to come back for more ^.^ See, Kiyumie is smart :D I would make Patrick a badass but well, if he's THAT sassy AND a badass, he'd be totally overpowered ._. I mean like every guy in the group would turn gay for that xD And yup! Kaede can sing! When I created her, I pictured her with a Kana Hanazawa type voice :D Let's be honest though, in life, things ALWAYS get worse :/**

** enarmios Patrick is honestly one of my favorite characters to write haha I don't think his creator pictured him the way I did when they created him but when I read his OC form this was exactly how I pictured him haha. I love it cos I can be as overly dramatic as I want with him haha Oh and let's just say Kaede is probably not the most stable person around.**

** 666funtimes I think shit hit the fan when people started eating each other xD**

** Nether Lord Hades Dude, even though I hadn't given her a POV until this chapter, she's gotten more screen time than a number of the other characters. Screen time is the times that the character is featured, not their POVs. I don't think Catherine is any less important than any of the other characters but tbh it's not easy for me to decide on a direction to take her when almost her entire OC form were one line responses.**

** Pandagurl13 I don't know if it's going to get sadder yet but there's a certain anime's pacing that I'm following for this and when I finish, well IF I finish the story, some people might recognize it :) And I'm used to staying up late even though I'm sleepy haha, I had to pull a few all-nighters to rush projects for school. **

** ShinBP Yup yup! Everyone has someone they love! And let's be honest, everyone loves dogs! People might be scared of dogs but I've never seen anyone who out right hated dogs! I personally have an extremely soft spot for dogs! I'm still working on an angle for David apart from being a goofy jock but don't worry, I'll find one eventually! No promises on the thing with Wolf though hehehehe :D**

** Awesome D.T Senpai! Ahahaha, I have a thing for lolis too because well, urm, I'm kind of like an irl loli with my small size and flat chest T.T Let's be honest here, the cold rude types are the ones everyone likes haha Just look at Daryl Dixon! I swear, sometimes I can't help but compare Phil to Kirito and its not just the dual blades thing haha And that's EXACTLY how I keep thinking of Taka and Feli haha xD Tbh, I haven't actually thought too much about the pairings yet, I totally suck at romance haha And I'll try not to hurt myself for you guys ;) First driving lesson's tomorrow… Oh god… hahaha**


	13. Chapter 9: Aftermath

**Note: Blurgh, hello everyone ^.^ I'm like, in school and extremely drowsy and bored and cant be assed to listen in class so ima write fanfic to occupy my time ^.^ I'm supposed to be drawing storyboards but fook daaaat**

**Lol haha alrighty, let's start :D**

**Kaede**

The sting on my red cheek was nothing compared to the agony that immediately stormed my heart. I slowly turned back to my best friend, eyes watering up dangerously quickly, and disbelief completely plastering my face.

"How could you? You just killed my parents!" Alice choked-screamed. Onee-Chan stood in the corner, seemingly wanting to intervene but didn't how to enter this very personal encounter.

"But-"

"My parents! My mum and dad! You, my best friend, just _murdered_ them right in front of me!"

"But they were-"

"WHAT?! Dead? You don't know that? No one does! We don't know that these are zombies! YOU don't know that they're actually dead! You never know anything! You're always just living in your own world, thinking that everything is as you see it! You always just never know anything!" She screamed into my face as I slowly backed away, not out of fear but just a bottom feeling that made me want to get away from what was causing me so much pain. Alice's face was a mask of pure anger and pain, all of which was because of me. She turned away, as though it hurt her eyes to look at me.

"I wish you were dead…" It barely came out as a whisper, it was so soft I normally wouldn't even be sure I had heard it but in the deathly silence of the room it echoed through my ears and it was all I could hear.

_I wish you were dead._

At that moment, so did I. I felt something dripping onto my hands and looked down, only to realize that it was my own tears flowing freely down my cheeks. Unable to take anymore, I ran out of the room, ignoring Onee-Chan's calls for me to come back. It didn't take long before I couldn't hear her anymore.

_Now you've done it. Who'd have thought? And here I thought I was the monster inside of you._

"SHUT UP!" I screamed as I ran. I heard the cruelest laugh I could ever imagine ring inside my own head.

_I guess I was wrong, looks like you're not just a lie to get rid of me after all. The only me is me, Kaede. Are you sure the only you is you? _

I clamped my hands over my ears as I ran, even though I knew the voice was inside me. I kept screaming and screaming.

I didn't stop even as I ran back into my house and past the others in the group, not even acknowledging them when they called my name. Not even Yuki. I didn't stop until the door to my room behind me was locked and I collapsed onto my bed finally unable to keep my emotions in. I exploded into sobs and screams, letting out every bit of pain inside me but I already knew that it would never go away. Trying to do something, anything to get myself to focus onto something other than my heart which was tearing itself apart, I started crashing myself into everything in my room, my wardrobe, my chair, even my computer. Nothing. I started pulling at my hair, tearing it out of the rubber band that held it in a ponytail. Nothing. Finally, I simply just crumpled onto the floor and rolled up into a fetal position with my knees to my chairs and let myself drown in my own sobs.

**Ginger**

Both Theo and my jumped when we heard the front door burst open as Yuki gasped a little in fear and surprise. Taka, instinctively leapt to his feet with his Bokken and stood in front of us. After Kaede's stunt, he was adamant that we all stay in the living room together. Not that any of us had the intention of running off but I guess it made him feel better. I saw a black blur flash past us down the hallway and I barely had time to register that it was Kaede before she was past us. All of us immediately started running after her, calling out her name. Most of us were pretty fast, don't get me wrong, but Kaede was something else entirely. We hadn't even left the living room before we heard the door slam and the screams. Upon hearing this, Taka double timed it and started banging on the door, trying to get her to open it. I heard Kaede continue to cry and scream before hearing a bunch of crashing noises.

"Oh god…" I whispered to myself, putting my right hand over my mouth. One of the few times an emotion escaped me.

From the moment I met her, I had the impression that Kaede was beyond sadness and pain, too innocent to be hurt this bad. It was hard to believe she was in fact, a year older than me. However the raw agony in her voice tightened my heart. I could tell from the others expressions and Taka's dying determination at knocking on the door that they all felt the same way. To hear someone so pure be torn apart from the inside like that, it was too much to bear. It felt worse than it had when my cousin tried to force an incest infatuation on me and turned my other cousin against me when I refused. Eventually, Kaede's cries died down to ragged sobs and her voice simply felt drained. Taka backed away from the door slowly, looking as though he suddenly felt like he was intruding, before slowly walking away, speaking to the rest of us softly as he moved.

"I'm going to find out what happened over there." None of us responded and he left without another word.

I felt a tender hand fall gently onto my shoulder. At 5'8'', Theo was pretty tall for a girl and quite a fair bit taller than 5'4'' me so I had to look up when I turned to see her giving me a sad look with her bluish green eyes. Despite the circumstances, I blushed a little at the gesture of affection.

"Come on… Let her cry. She'll feel better after she lets it out. We'll check on her in a bit." She whispered in her British accent. I took one last glance at the door and saw that little Yuki had started crying as well, upon hearing the girl she looked up to in so much pain. She knelt down next to the door and leaned against it, softly sobbing while hugging Kuro tightly to her chest. The little puppy whined a little and licked some of the tears off her face, trying to cheer up his master. Theo and I turned away, leaving them to let out the sadness from their bodies. I grimly wondered how much more pain was coming for us in the future. Was that it? A body of pain and sorrow? Was that all that we are?

**Feli**

I sighed in relief when I saw that Kaede had run back to her house and not somewhere else where she could be put in more danger. It didn't matter how good she was at fighting when her soul and spirit were shattered. Resisting the urge to continue chasing her, I turned back into Alice's house to see the girl kneeling and staring blankly into space. It didn't take a genius to know she regretted every word she had said to Kaede but she was simply too emotionally drained to fix it at the moment. A part of me wanted to bash her skull in for hurting my Kae-Chan but the rational part of me knew she was in just as much pain so I composed myself. Without saying a word, I walked past, leaving her to sort out her thoughts and emotions while I found something to distract myself with.

I opened a door plastered with "Do No Enter" signs that was obviously the entrance to Alice's bedroom before taking in my surroundings. Alice's room was pretty much the polar opposite of Kaede's room with clothes and clothes hangers everywhere. To be quite honest, just as I hadn't expected Kaede's room to be so neat, I had not expected Alice's room to look like a warzone. Her bed was left unmade, presumably from waking up this morning and I could see her bath towel sitting over the chair at her desk where she'd casually thrown it after getting out of the shower. The only similarity was the ocean of plush toys that were on both their beds. Where Kaede dressed for comfort, Alice preferred to be more conspicuous, lacy dresses and skirts everywhere.

I opened her wardrobe door and almost rolled my eyes upon seeing the row of high heels lining the bottom shelf. Her closet was stacked with numerous Lolita dresses and skirts that I'm pretty sure I would have heard about had she ever worn them to school. Don't get me wrong, I like wearing skirts as well, in fact I was wearing a pink, pleated skirt together with my off-shoulder sweater at that very moment, but this was ridiculous. Sighing, I started pulling out pieces of clothing that at least looked semi-practical and believe me, it was not an easy task. I picked out 3 skirts that looked like they might be easy to move in along with a white blouse and threw them onto Alice's bed. After a bit more rummaging, I found a pair of denim shorts, a hoodie and a t-shirt that I was pretty sure belonged to Kaede. Apart from being slightly taller, Alice was about the same size and build as Kaede so I tossed them into the pile. I then grabbed a few sets of underwear that were outrageously lacy before dumping it all into a backpack sitting in the corner of the room.

_At least the backpack is practical. _I thought to myself, so relieved that it wasn't pink with unicorns on it.

Throwing it over my shoulders, I returned to the living room to find Alice as I left her. I walked over to her and told her to get up. Unsurprisingly, she ignored me, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, before dragging her along like a mother with her toddler. We had just reached the front door when it burst open and Taka rushed in, panting and looking around wildly, taking in his surroundings. He finally registered that we were standing in front of him and his face flooded with obvious relief. It wasn't hard to infer what had gone through his head considering what Kaede must have looked like when she returned to her house.

"Thank god, when I saw Kaede I thought-" Upon hearing Kaede's name, Alice let out a choke and started whimpering, causing Taka to stop talking, his expression turning to one of concern.

"We're fine. Well… Kind of…" I replied softly. He gave me a questioning look and I gave him one back that told him that I'd explain later. Now was definitely not the time to talk about what had happened. He nodded understandingly before stepping aside and letting us pass.

"I'm going to see if there's anything else useful around here before I join you guys." I nodded tiredly and led Alice out of the house.

The first part of the walk went in deathly silence. You probably expected me to start lecturing Alice about her outburst but I was honestly too drained myself to bother. Besides, I didn't need to. She was the one who broke the silence.

"She didn't deserve that. I didn't mean it but it doesn't matter does it? I can't take back what I said…" She whispered. It was meant for herself as much as it was meant for me. I simply silently listened as we walked.

"She was just trying to protect me. God, I'm such a bitch. How could I do that to her?" It was all that was going through my head but I had already known that Alice knew what she had done. She was beating herself up harder over it than I ever would. I simply listened to her curse herself in silence.

**Patrick**

I felt weird all of a sudden. Like a sudden sense of worry just washed over me. I didn't know what it was but I suddenly felt very worried about Kae and Alice. It must have shown on my face because Mina looked at me and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just… I don't know, it's silly but I just suddenly feel worried about Kae and Alice. Like something's off but I can't put my finger on it."

"It's been a rough day, enough to drive anyone crazy."

"I guess but neither of them are lucky leprechauns like I am. Remember the time where they were the only two who fell into the school pool during the sports meet?"

"Yeah, not gonna lie, it was pretty funny." Mina smiled a little at the recollection of a better time.

Phil stepped into the door way and gave a whistle.

"You two ready to go?"

"Yeah, we'll be right out." Mina replied before Phil nodded and disappeared back into the restaurant. Mina turned back to me and gave me a reassuring look.

"Don't worry. Kaede is tougher than she looks. She's more than capable of protecting the both of them." I chuckled remembering the last time someone tried to bully Alice. It wasn't just their egos that got broken, I'll tell you that much.

"You're right. Our little airhead is a little monster. Come on, they're waiting for us."

How could I have known just how much of a monster lived inside that tiny body?

**Yuki**

I stared at the window before looking around for something to stand up on. The window of Kae-San's room was still left open from when she'd snuck out and from outside, I could still hear her sobbing. It broke my heart to hear the girl I idolized and adored in such a state.

"Come on, Kuro. We need to find a way to climb through so we can be with Kae-San." The little husky gave a cheerful bark in reply before sniffing around the ground. I also started looking around for something tall enough that could let me reach the window. The house was only a single story but the floor wasn't on ground level, being slightly elevated so the window was barely out of my reach when I jumped. Kuro suddenly let out a bark and I turned to him wagging his tail next to a bush. I walked up to him and saw a few flower pots hidden behind the bush.

"Good boy, Kuro-Chan!" I patted him on the head and he closed his eyes as though feeling really good and proud of himself. I picked the biggest pot of the bunch and it felt like it would be able to hold my weight as I was pretty light at 74lbs. I set the pot down right below the window and stood on it. I was pretty tall for my age, at 4'7'', so I was able to reach up to the window and barely peer inside. I grabbed Kuro and lifted him in first before trying to climb us myself. Having been in gymnastics club in school, I was pretty good at climbing so I was easily able to lift myself up onto the windowsill. As I was climbing, I heard Kuro giving a few soft barks, before hearing Kae-San sniff.

"Ku…ro?" She whispered weakly and I looked up just as she looked at me. The whites of her eye were completely red from crying and she had numerous cuts and bruises on her arms and face. Her long bangs were thrown all over the place and I saw the long scar and blind eye she usually hid behind them. As I climbed into the room, I saw that numerous things had been broken and realized that she had been hurting herself by crashing into them.

"Yu…ki-chan…" She said my name softly as her lip started trembling. Her eye were so red you couldn't even tell if they were watering or not. I ran to her and hugged her just as she started crying again. It felt weird that I was the one comforting her instead but it felt good that I knew she could depend on me as well. She was too weak to hug me back but buried her face into my shoulder, our size difference not being that large, and kept crying as I tried to imitate how she had comforted me before. Then, I tried to sing the same song that she had sung to me before. A song from an anime called Angel Beats that she had introduced to me while babysitting me. It didn't sound nearly as good compared to her singing but Kae-San didn't seem to care and I could feel her breathing start to slow as she calmed down a little.

Her sobs started dying out before she finally lost the last of her energy and lost consciousness. Now, I let the tears fall from my eyes but forced myself to stay strong. Strong through the strength that Kae-San had given me.

**Bleh, not gonna lie, I got kind of emotional writing this because when I wrote about Kaede's reaction, I kind of put myself back when my dog passed last year :/ My dog's name was Sabrina and I honestly could write and entire novel on how we met but I met her when I was 7 and she literally grew up with me. I didn't exactly have a particularly nice childhood and always had a lot of family problems, in addition to getting bullied but she was the one constant good thing that was always there for me. To be quite honest, she was more important to me than most humans in my life and I really saw her as a sister and not a pet. Therefore I dedicate this chapter to my beloved Sabrina, may she rest in peace in the land where all good doggies go. Alright, to lighten the mood, I pretty much wrote exclusively for Kaede's group this chapter because it honestly wouldn't make any sense to leave the ending to the last chapter hanging without explaining its impact on the group. Don't worry, the other two groups will definitely get more attention next chapter and I haven't forgotten about the army peeps at the grocery store and I imagine we'll be seeing more of them soon. ;) Also, did anyone spot the reference/references in this chapter? ;D Now for the replies to the reviews!**

** 666funtimes Just because I'm a loli, doesn't mean I can't be a lolicon! Lolis like other lolis too k ;_; Anyways, there's definitely going to be more conflict and hurdles for the group to go through so stay tuned!**

** Hikari-Angel143 Oh lord, I kept forgetting to press on the brake during the lesson and my steering is terrible T.T I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and I'm glad you're satisfied with how I wrote Mina :)**

** Ancientblue I had ideas pop into my head and I didn't want to forget about them then get stuck with writer's block again so I just put it all down haha I've always liked Beth but tbh, I think Pat's a lot more like season 1/season 2 Glenn haha Which mean's theres plenty of room for improvement in the fighting department haha**

** Awesome D.T Oh god, please don't even remind me . We had no idea that we'd walked into a fine dining restaurant. I will say that the steak was on a completely different level and it was a pretty fat portion but if I'd known I'd be spending $100, I'd have walked the other way. And yes! I have a boyfriend hahaha I'm quite annoyed at him for only asking me to be his girlfriend this year because I've literally known him since I was 7 and he told me he had a crush on me since we were 14 but never had the courage to tell me. Geez, I'd have said yes even when we were 10 -.- Taka has white hair! I love white haired characters because, well, Kaneki Ken haha Kaede can take care of herself! She'd be mad at me if I didn't give her a chance to protect her friends ._. She was practically pestering me to give her a fight scene… **

** ShinBP Oh relax David, I didn't say I was going to kill you off.**

**David: Oh ho ho, I've seen what you're like and honestly I don't know if I should be more scared of Kaede or you considering you CREATED her.**

**Me: Psshh, do I look like a monster to you?**

**David: Do you want the answer you want to hear or the truth?**

**Me: Gee thanks… Maybe I'll give you to Wolf after all.**

**David: Oh god, I take it back, Kiyumie is a lovely benevolent goddess who is the embodiment of sugar, spice and everything nice, please don't kill me.**

**Me: Teehee, that's so kind of you ^.^ You flatter me *****blush*******

** Everyone else I'll keep writing as much as I can while I have ideas fresh in my head until I get hit by the dreaded writer's block again. Stay tuned for more! I'm gonna try to go for longer chapters now :) Till next time!**


	14. Chapter 10: Family

**Okay, I should not have jinxed myself with that stuff about writer's block because I'm having a terrible case of it right now urgh. My brother's girlfriend is staying over tonight in my room with me so she's gonna help me think of stuff but this is probably gonna mostly be a filler chapter.**

**Oh, guess who just turned 19 today :D God I feel old T.T**

**Phil**

I dragged the last two duffel bags of supplies across the street back towards the van and dropped them right next to the back door before wiping my arm across my brow, letting out a breathe. I looked over to the rooftop where Brendan had set up a makeshift sniper's nest to keep watch as we pillaged the entire neighborhood of supplies. He spotted me and gave a wave, to which I returned the gesture. I heard a soft giggle and smiled. It wasn't often I got time alone with Lane. I turned to the girl that only I could see to see her playing with soft chestnut hair, smiling playfully at her. I didn't know if I was going crazy or it was her legit apparition but all the same, I was just thankful I could still see the girl I gave my heart to.

"Crazy day, huh."

"You said it." I ran my hand through my hair as I spoke. Lane's playful expression slowly faded to one of concern and worry. I knew her well enough to know what was bothering her. Well, I guess it was also probably because it was bothering me.

"Do you think…"

"They're probably fine. Your house is outside of L.A. and pretty out of the loop. They probably didn't get hit that bad."

"I guess…" I stepped up to her and cupped her face gently in my hand. Honestly, I was surprised I could do that.

"Hey…" She looked up into my eyes with her magical sea-green eyes. I ran my free hand through her hair reassuringly.

"Once the others are out of this mess, I'll go straight to get your parents. They're tough, it'll take more than the apocalypse to take them down."

Lane chuckled and my heart inflated to see her smile.

"Who are you talking to?" I jumped and immediately spun around, hiding my hands behind my back. I saw that Patrick and Mina had both just walked out from the restaurant together and were both looking at me questioningly.

"Urm, ah, no one, urm I was just erm, thinking out loud." Unconvinced, Patrick narrowed his eyes and I sighed.

"Okay, I have some family who live outside of L.A. and I'm worried about them. I was just saying it out loud to try and calm myself." Patrick and Mina both looked at each other before looking back at me with satisfied expressions.

"Nice save." I suppressed a grin and gave Lane a thumbs up behind my back.

"Then let's get out of this hellhole asap so you can go find them." Mina said encouragingly. I gave them a thankful smile as Catherine appeared with another bag of supplies and dumped it into the van. A sudden feeling entered my chest. I barely knew any of these people but it suddenly felt like I had a new family.

**David**

I stared at Wolf simply staring at the body laying on the floor of her living room with an expressionless face. I couldn't read her, there was none of her usual hostility nor the ecstasy that she'd displayed upon reuniting with her dog. Speaking of whom, Bear seemed worried about his owner as well from the way he was looking at her as he stood by her side. The smart dog knew something was up. My gaze wavered to the corpse of Wolf's mother, who would not reanimate. It was weird and morbid to think about how she would have met her end today, regardless of whether or not the apocalypse had happened. Her mother had finally overdosed on drugs one too many times and no one had been home to help her.

Wolf turned away from the body and walked back into the hallway. Unsure of what to do, I simply followed her, carefully keeping my distance. She walked into her room and started shoving some singlet tops and a black hoodie similar to the one she was wearing except it had a skull on it instead of being plain. Her room was surprisingly plain but considering what I now knew about her family, she probably couldn't afford to decorate. After stuffing a few other "personal items", namely a few pocket knives and a pair of brass knuckles, into the backpack, she threw it over her left shoulder before pushing past me.

"Come on." Her voice was completely monotone lacking any of her normal aggression and it made me worry.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, just drop it."

"You sure?"

"I said drop it." The growl was returning to her voice and Bear started looking at me funny but I didn't stop.

"Look, it's okay to be sad-"

"I SAID FUCKING DROP IT!" She shouted as she whipped around and slugged me right in the cheek. She hit me so hard that my head was completely whipped around and I lost my balance, falling to the ground. I felt my cheek swell up and something wet trickle down my nose. I reached for my nostrils and my fingers came away bloody.

"There's ice in the freezer. I'll be outside." She said quietly but impassively before striding off, her large canine companion in tow. I tried to sigh but winced immediately from the pain before pushing myself off the ground and walking to the kitchen. Holding an ice pack I felt the soothing sensation as the swelling started to go down.

_Guess we all have to deal with our own grief._

I grimly thought about my own family and wondered if I really wanted to see what awaited me in my home.

**Wolf**

I knew it wasn't love I felt for Cath. Not really, anyway. She'd never been there for me for as long as I could remember. I never even knew my father so since I was a kid, I had to look out for number one. Cath was always so drugged up and out of it she barely even realized she had a daughter. Twice, I had to call an ambulance because she OD'd and in the end, it was still what took her down. There was no reason for me to care about this woman. So why did I feel empty inside? Staring at my feet, I refused to let myself believe that I genuinely missed my mother.

"Stupid sentimental bullshit." I muttered to myself. I felt a lump of fur push itself under my arm and Bear put his chin on my knees, looking at me with puppy-like eyes. I smiled at him and rubbed his head.

"When did you become a mushy barf bag?" I snorted as he stuck out his tongue and started panting. I suddenly thought about David and how I punched him. I supposed I should apologize but to be honest, the idiot had it coming. I figured I'd at least ask how he was later but not now. For the moment, I simply stared out into blank space, my arm around Bear, the only family I had left in this fucked up world.

**Kyle**

Mike simply stared blankly as I read the note out loud. My half-brother, despite our estranged ties, had left me a note in case I came home telling me that he had evacuated with the Reiss family to a military camp outside of town. A part of me was relieved but another part of me worried about how Mike was feeling. I couldn't even imagine how it felt to know that his father could have evacuated with the others. I felt like saying something, but there was nothing to be said. It was times like this where the theory of "Bro Silence" was as true as ever. I decided to give him some space, instead moving to my room to pack up some clothes.

Pulling my old camping bag out of my closet, I set it down on my bed before reviewing my selection. I picked out a green and grey shirt, along with a pair of black pants for myself before deciding on clothes for Mike. The guy was a little bigger than me so I decided baggier clothes would be best. Scanning my wardrobe, I noticed a black piece hanging from the top and sighed. I'd bought that leather jacket on impulse before realizing that I hated the feeling of leather. What? Any guy who tells you he didn't want to look like the Terminator is lying to you. However, it looked like it would fit Mike so I pulled it out. I pulled out my largest pair of black timberlands along with a dark blue polo shirt that was a size big for me before stuffing everything into the bag.

It occurred to me that some supplies would be useful so I walked past Mike, who was looking around the living room, into the kitchen before pulling out a stash of canned food. Beans, beans everywhere. Neither Matt nor I even liked beans so what the hell was all this doing here. Whatever, it worked out in the end. A quick check of the tool cupboard scored me a few flashlights and a box of batteries. I had just set them down on the floor when something inside caught my eye. I reached for it and almost laughed out loud when I realized I was holding a pair of brass knuckles.

_Matt, you sly dog. You've been holding out on me. _

Hoping that it might cheer him up, I brought the find to Mike.

"Yo Mike! Check this out!" Looking up from a "careful inspection" of my couch, he walked over and I dropped the knuckles in his hand. He stared at them, unsure of what to think.

"Found em in the tool cupboard. My brother's been hiding shit from me. Figured you'd be better with them." He simply nodded and I knew an awkward situation when I saw one so I left him be and continued filling up the bag with the supplies. We didn't keep bottled water in the house so hopefully the others would have more luck in that department. Hefting the bag over my shoulder, I returned to the living room and brushed my hand over Mike's shoulder as I passed him, making my way to the front door.

"Let's blow this joint."

**Amir**

I watched the scattered undead mull around the dead streets as the sky started to turn orange. There were too many to quietly clear the area with melee weapons but not enough to warrant wasting the ammo or risking detection by more undead by gunning them down from the roof of the grocery store. Besides, the barricades we and some other survivors had put up were solid. I let the tunes fill my head through my headphones as I held my rifle in a lazy position. Guard duty was such a drag.

The thing about listening to music is that you lose track of time, so I didn't know how long it had been before I felt something hit my shoulder softly. I turned and saw a small piece of gravel sitting on floor behind me before looking up and seeing Sara looking at me with a somewhat amused and yet condescending look. I pulled off my headphones as she sat down next to me and we both stared out into the distance.

"Anything interesting up here?"

"Apart from the fact that I've been staring at freaking zombies? Nothing." She chuckled, once again reminded of how crazy the situation actually was. It was amazing how fast she'd adapted to the circumstances. She pulled off her BDU shirt and wore her combat vest over her tan undershirt as she spoke.

"Guinto's been on the radio. The signal is patchy and we couldn't send anything through. From what we managed to get, it seems like this shit is happening everywhere, all over the globe." I kept my expression straight and stayed silent but somehow, Sara still managed to read my concern about my family.

"The good news is, reports are that Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei didn't get hit and they are currently quarantining themselves off, which means your folks are safe." I heaved a sigh of relief and looked at her to find her already gazing at me.

"Thanks, Lieutenant."

"Hey, don't thank me, I didn't do shit. There's something else though." She looked at me, as though waiting for me give her the green light. I nodded and she continued.

"We've heard that an evacuation zone was set up about a click outside of town. We haven't been able to contact them so we don't know if it's safe or not. This store has a lot of supplies that can keep us going if things get even worse than they are so I want to know if this evac is worth it before I give up what we have."

"You want me to go check it out." I replied, catching on. She nodded and spoke again.

"I read your file, I know you're exceptional in scouting work. But I'm not sending you alone. Marcus wants to go with. Says he has people he needs to find." I started and gave her a surprised look. Marcus Park was a former Marine with a prosthetic left leg after his squad took a hit in Iran by suicide bombers. I swear, it's these bloody lunatics' faults that there is prejudice against Muslims. Take a guess how many American soldiers I've worked with expect that I wear a bomb vest under my gear.

"I don't know Lieutenant, I can work alone. That Marcus guys would probably slow me down and honestly, the guy gives me the creeps." It was true, he was good at controlling it, I gave him that but the guy had all the signs of PTSD. People like that were walking time bombs.

"I'm not sending you in without backup Amir. And I can't spare anyone else with combat experience. You think that fat cop is going to be worth half a dime in a fight?" I couldn't help but chuckle at the mention of the policeman, Kurt Grey, who looked like he'd been going ham with the donuts. I was about to respond when Sara cut me off.

"This isn't up for debate Amir. That's an order." I felt my body stiffen and felt the casual air seep back into tension. An order was an order. I'd have to make do with it.

"Yes Ma'am."

**Kaede**

I woke up and felt Yuki's light breathing on my chest. My back felt stiff from the awkward position that I'd passed out in. I gasped when the disorientation started to wear off and the pain in my head and chest hit me like a truck, as I felt a single tear escape my near empty tear ducts. My cheeks felt stiff from the dried up tears and the stings and aches from the injuries I'd inflicted on myself started to kick in. They still did nothing for the pain in my heart but I had it under better control now.

Suddenly, I heard a giggle and my heart skipped a beat. I frantically looked around my room for the source as Yuki started stirring. The giggle had sounded girlish, innocent, yet something about it had sent a chill down my spine. I had heard it before, but I couldn't remember where. None of my strength had returned yet and the way I was now, if there was any danger, I was powerless against it.

My eye suddenly froze on a figure that was staring at me, a wide wicked grin spread across its face. It was familiar, a face I knew well. It's hair was messy and its long bangs did not completely cover the long gash across its left eye, as it stared into my soul with its single red eye, insanity obviously dancing behind it. I should have moved, maybe try to throw something at it. But I simply grinned back at my reflection in my mirror.

**Theo**

I grabbed my crowbar and rested it over my shoulder as I put my arm around Ginger's neck and steered her towards the front door. The 15 year old girl squirmed a little but didn't resist too much as we walked past Feli who was leaning against the railing of the staircase.

"You sure you don't need me to come?" She said half-heartedly.

"Oh relax, it's just on the other street. We can handle it."

"If you say so…" I knew she was only offering out of feeling responsible for all of us. Her heart was obviously with the broken girl upstairs.

"You have an airhead to take care of. BUT, I know it's tempting but please, for the love of god, have the decency not to take advantage of the two lolis upstairs you pervert." I teased with a smirk.

Feli couldn't resist the laugh and gave a playful smirk in return.

"No promises there."

"Oh god, let's get out of here before I hurl, Gin." The girl didn't respond but I felt her shiver a little, as though trying to stifle a laugh. I took a look behind me as I opened the front door, seeing Feli walk up the stairs and Alice staring deadpan into blank space in the living room. Feli had told us what happened but it wasn't in our place to interfere. We left the house and started making our way towards Ginger's and my street. On the way, we passed Taka who was hauling a full duffel bag back towards Kaede's house. We waved at each other as we approached before he spoke.

"You two going alone?" It was pretty obvious where we were going so he didn't ask.

"Yeah, I don't think anyone in that house is in any state to come with us."

"I can come with you guys."

"It's fine, besides, Feli is looking after the two little ones. Alice could use some attention." Taka nodded reluctantly but accepted it.

"Alright, just be careful."

"We will." We parted ways and the rest of the journey continued in solemn silence. As we approached, I suggested that we go to her house first, and then mine. She simply nodded and remained silent. Who could blame her? It had only now sinking in what we were likely to find in our own houses. As we stood outside the door, I held my crowbar in a ready position as Ginger held her baseball bat tightly.

"Ready?" I whispered.

"Let's do it." She said with a determination that was seriously hot. I slowly opened the door as we crept in. I gestured for her to stay behind me as we carefully swept the house. To our surprise, it was completely empty as we came to Ginger's room. As expected, it was devoid of life and we saw a piece of paper sitting on Ginger's purple bed. She quickly walked over to it and snatched it up before reading it out loud as I examined her room. Her room was pretty plain and looked kind of like a real estate show room, save for a lava lamp above her wardrobe and a few band posters on the walls.

"Dear Ginger,

If you're reading this, thank god you're safe. I tried to get the soldiers to go look for you but they said they'd move to the school after they evacuated the residential areas. The army has put up a refugee camp outside of town and that's where they're going to bring us. If you got back here, you should have a car. Get out of town and look for us, it's next to the road past the gas station. Stay safe.

Aunt Meg." I turned to her, my voice raising a little.

"The army? That's reassuring." I said sarcastically.

"But if they were evacuated, why weren't Alice's parents?"

"I guess they were already turned…" I whispered morbidly as Ginger looked down at her feet. I walked over and put my hand on her shoulder gingerly. Oh I'm so _punny. _How _punderful. _Okay I'm going to kill myself now. Anyway, as I was saying, I put my hand on her shoulder gingerly and she looked up at me and I was surprised. Ginger hadn't shown much emotion at all since I met her but now her face was obviously sad and her eyes were getting wet.

"Why is this happening?"

"Sorry to say but shit happens, love. It's just the way the world works."

"I'm worried about Alice and Kaede…"

"I know, love. We all are. Come on, pack up your things. After this, I'll drop by my house and pick up some things, then we can leave this wretched place behind us, together."

**Feli**

I pushed open the door softly after unlocking it with the key I found and saw Kaede gently caressing Yuki's forehead as she slept and resting her cheek on younger girl's hair. A wave of emotion shot through me as I saw how caring she was, even in her current state. It simply added to my love for her even more. I slowly walked and she noticed me before giving me a weak smile. The smile wasn't fooling anyone and I could tell she was obviously still in pieces.

"Come on, let's get her on the bed." I whispered as she nodded. I carefully lifted the little girl into my arms and put her onto Kaede's bed before Kaede covered her with her blanket. A small smile broke across Yuki's face as she slept, obviously in comfort. I tapped Kaede on the shoulder and motioned for her to move away so we could talk. Before we said anything, I wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug that she was obviously not expecting but she relaxed, clearly appreciating the affection. I broke the embrace but kept my hands on her shoulders and she looked up as me with her large hazel eye where the whites were bloodshot from crying. Her lip was trembling but she didn't make a sound.

"How are you, Kae-Chan?"

"I'm okay." She wasn't referring to herself in third person. She was obviously not okay.

"Kaede, it wasn't your fault."

"I made Alice mad. I should have listened to you and stayed out of trouble." This didn't feel right. It felt like Kaede's innocence had been shattered from the way she spoke.

"Kae-Chan, you SAVED our lives. If you didn't come along when you did, neither me nor Alice would still be here." I saw her start to waver, as though feeling some internal conflict. Deep down, she knew she'd protected us but now she simply wasn't sure.

"But Alice said-"

"I know what Alice said. Kaede, she was upset because her parents were dead. People say all kinds of things they don't mean when they're upset." Kaede whimpered and I knew I was getting through to her.

"She knows you protected her and she wishes she never said what she said." Kaede started breaking out into harsh sobs again but didn't have any tears left in her.

"Onee-Chan…."

"Shhh, I'm here. I got you." I held her in my arms for what felt like eternity and being in close contact with her was something I wouldn't give for the world. We finally reluctantly broke apart and I smiled at her, wiping the snot off her face with my hand. She finally smiled back, revealing her pearly white teeth and her two extremely obvious upper canine teeth. It was a snot-filled smile and her face was encrusted tears but it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.

**Blurgh, I have to head off to bed early tonight cos I got school in the morning but I might write another short chapter in class tomorrow so I'll reply to reviews then :) Oh oh oh, an interesting thing to note is that I had nothing to eat in the middle of the night while I wrote this so I opened a can of beans and ate it straight from the can haha What a coincidence that I'd be eating like a true apocalypse survivor hahaha But before I go, thanks to everyone for your kind words about Sabrina, I really appreciate it a lot :) **


	15. Replies To Some Reviews

**Bleh, I'm totally getting owned by my writer's block T.T I'm like gonna play some fallout for hopefully some narrative inspiration. SO DON'T BLAME ME IF SOMEONE WALKS INTO A RANDOM TRIP MINE NEXT CHAPTER. Urm, ahem, I mean, I wonder what I'll think of for the next chapter :O Oh, I've literally been addicted to videos of Guren no Yumiya going with everything hahhaaha Hmmm, urm well, anyway, let's get started before I fall asleep on my laptop.**

** Ancientblue Sabby-Chan really was the best thing that ever happened to me :/ Even though she used to constantly look at me like I was an idiot and look like she was judging me or something hahaha Like I'd just be chuunibyouing in my room and she'd be like "I cant believe I belong to this twat." **

**I actually didn't notice that about Pat and Mina when I was writing it but now that I think about it I see it pretty clearly hahaha**

**Literally when I'm writing Feli, I keep having this image of her being a harem owner x.x**

**That part about Alice is actually based on my brother's girlfriend, literally the first time I was ever in a changing room with her I was like "HOLY SHIT DO YOU DO PORN" xD**

**Let's just hope Bear doesn't eat little Kuro :/**

**I'd say Pat is pretty Magnus himself (Yes, I know exactly who you're referring to ;) Magnus Bane is fab af unless you mean someone else and im just a moron x.x)**

**Okay, about the kiss people were expecting between Feli and Kaede, I wasn't thinking romance when I wrote it, more of a Teresa/Clare thing from Claymore. Oh and thanks for the birthday wish! And I agree, Theo totally has that mum/nanny vibe to her haha, although maybe not so much when she calls people lolis…. Geez, it's like she's encouraging Feli to try something**

** enarmonios I soooooo regret jinxing myself about writer's block T.T I don't know why but I kept thinking that Kurt was fat and only now remembered that he wasn't **(－‸ლ) **Oh well, I'll probably stick with him being slightly on the chubby side for comedic effect haha Yup, the safe zone is up next! But I'm not sure when safe zones in zombie stories ever went well ahahaha**

** Awesome D.T HNGH, CAN'T BREATHE . OH GOD D.T SENPAI, I'M NOT THAT OLD T.T I still look and think like a 14 year old… Honestly, you'd probably think I'm younger than you if you saw me. You have no idea how annoyed I was at him… When he finally confessed to me last year after I ran into him again after losing contact for about 3 years or so, I was like "BITCH, Y U NO TELL ME EARLIER DAMMIT OF COURSE I'LL GO OUT WITH YOU" That exchange with between Alice and Kaede was actually almost identical to one between my best friend and I about 2 years ago, so it really was personal experience… Urm, anyway, onto less depressing topics, I wouldn't go as far as to call me a wonderful writer haha *****twiddles fingers and blushes***** Wolf is such a fun character to write! And yeah, pestering a girl, any girl let alone Wolf, when she wants to be left alone is a HUUUGE mistake guys need to stop making -_-**

**I don't know why, but I keep thinking of Mario and Luigi when I think of Mike and Kyle. OH DAMN, MIKE WAS EVEN USING A PIPE.**

**Oh Marcus Park is an OC that Mikendell sent me who has some history with someone :)**

**Theo and Ginger remind me of Ymir and Christa from Shingeki No Kyojin hahaha god everyone is making me picture parallels x.x**

**The lava lamp was a stroke of genius on my part if I do say so myself hehehe *Gloats***

**I'm not against TakaXAlice ;D**

**Yuki is soooooo kawaii and sweet X.X Only Shiro-Chan (SnowWh1t3 :3) could come up with someone like that haha**

**God dammit! That moment was supposed to be a sweet sisterly moment! Although, the original idea was going to be a, urm, ah, lesbian sex scene…**

** PandaGurl13 –Hugs back- I was wondering how to bring up Ginger's past haha Wuv you too 3 Suki dai yo, Nee-Chan :3 **

** ShinBP Oh god, please don't remind me that I'm in my last year of teenagehood T.T I want to be 16 again… David's family was evacuated with the others but I wonder how that turned out…**

** SnowWh1t3 Thank you Shiro-Chan! God I love the sound of that nickname hahaha But please god, don't call me senpai X.X I like to make myself believe im younger than I am T.T Keep calling me Kiyu-Tan haha It's weird in a good way cos my last name happens to be Tan haha**


	16. Chapter 11: Gang's Back Together

**Okay, if anyone wanted proof that Kaede's air-headedness is based on me, I rushed down to school this morning for an 8AM class and even took a cab because I thought I was going to be late and when I got here, turns out there was no lesson this week -.- And I cant even go home because I still have a lesson in the afternoon… I'm such a twat… Therefore, since I now have loads of free time, I shall start writing.**

**Taka**

The awkwardness was almost a physical substance in the air. Alice sat on the couch squeezing her knees together and staring at the ground. Her body trembled for her barely suppressed sobs. She was trying her best to keep her face blank and stop herself from crying again but the effort simply left her face in a harsh grimace. I sat on the arm chair leaning forward, awkwardly rubbing my thumbs together.

_I should have went with Ginger and Theo… Look after Alice they said, you'll do fine they said. No one even bothered to tell me what happened… Never. Again. _

"Look who's on her feet again." I instantly looked up, my heart skipping a beat.

Sure enough, Feli and Yuki walked through the doorway holding Kaede by her arms and supporting her, Kuro following at their feet. Kaede still looked very weak and was barely able to stay standing, but she was on her feet. She looked up and met my gaze and I saw that her face was caked with dried up tears and her hair was in a mess having been let out of her ponytail and now fell slightly below her shoulders. She flashed me a weak smile and I beamed back. Knowing that Kaede was an avid anime lover, I spoke to her in my mother tongue.

"Daijoubu ka, Kaede-Chan?"

"Mmm mmm." She mumbled while nodding.

"Daijoubu da, senpai." Being able to speak in Japanese had a wondrous effect on Kaede as she brightened up and her smile grew ever so slightly wider. Seeing her smile so sweetly, despite what she'd just been through, which Feli still owed me an explanation of, and what I knew her childhood had been like… I finally understood why Feli loved her.

There was a jerking sound and we all turned towards the sofa. I noticed Kaede's smile slowly fade as she saw who was there. Alice had stood up and was staring straight at her best friend, eyes wide and mouth opening and closing as though trying to say something.

"Kae, I… I…" She trailed off as Kaede looked away, trying to hide a pained expression on her face. The same expression mirrored on Alice's face and she slowly sat back down, dejected. I looked to Feli who simply sadly shook her head and I nodded slowly. Time was needed before these two could face each other again. The three girls entered the room and Feli gently handed Kaede to me to help her sit down. She then walked back out into the hallway and I heard the front door open, then close about a minute later as she returned with a bottle of water from the car.

"Drink some water, Kae-Chan." She said affectionately as she knelt down in front of Kaede and held the open bottle to her lips. The small girl drank sip by sip at first but finally gave in to dehydration and took the bottle into her own hands and gulped all of it down greedily. Suddenly, as Kaede was trying to get the last drops out of the bottle into her mouth, a sudden lewd expression appeared on Feli's face as she moved her hands up, Kaede completely oblivious. Without warning, she grabbed Kaede's tiny breasts and squeezed, causing her to squeak and drop the empty bottle.

"Hmm, they're so small but so perky at the same time. The perfect loli boobs." Feli purred in a super perverted voice. Kaede was blushing profusely and wriggling her body.

"O-Onee-Chan, no-not in front of everyone…" I laughed awkwardly and ran my hand through my white hair. My eyes flicked to Yuki and I was horrified to see that she was staring intently at the scene in front of her curiously.

_Oh lord, there goes her innocence._

Shaking my head, I turned to look at Alice and noticed a small smile, barely visible on her lips signifying her secret relief that her friend was getting better. We were all watching Feli grope Kaede when the front door flew open and my body tensed, ready to run for my bokken when Theo came around the corner a duffel bag over her shoulder, skidding to a stop.

"We got some new-whoa whoa whoa, what the blazes is going on here?" She exclaimed staring at Feli and Kaede as Ginger appeared behind her with a backpack on her back before skidding to a stop next to the taller British girl, eyes widening. Feli and Kaede simply stared back with their mouths hanging slightly open, Feli's hands still on Kaede's chest. She got in one more squeeze causing Kaede to go, "Eek!" before letting go and clearing her throat.

"Ahem, therapy, my dear Watson." She replied in a ridiculous faked British accent.

"Uh huh, I'm sure, anyway, I was saying, we have some news, the military has already evacuated all of the residential neighborhoods. If anyone survived, they're in a safe zone set up outside of town."

"The military? Why don't I feel any safer?"

"Hey, that's what I said!"

I stepped up and added my own input.

"Okay, guys, this isn't some cheap Micheal Bay movie where the army is useless. The way things are, they're our best bet and if that's where our families are…" I heard a soft sob from across the room and resisted the urge to turn attention to her. The last thing she needed was for everyone to stare at her.

"Alright then, so we skip your house, Taka. And we go straight to my place to meet the others. There are a few "things" I want to pick up there as well." I nodded but raised a question.

"What about Yuki's family?" Both Yuki and Kaede, tensed up and Yuki struggled to keep herself from breaking out into tears again. It suddenly occurred to me what I had just said and mentally kicked myself for being a _baka. _

"They're not there…" Yuki whispered quietly and we all knew what that meant and Kaede simply looked at Yuki with a worried expression. Yuki must have told her much earlier. We started packing up as Kaede went back upstairs saying she wanted to get something. Alice got into the middle seat first while the rest of us waited outside. She reappeared holding a small iPod in her hand and a earpiece in her other. She hopped down the steps surprisingly cheerfully. She and Yuki climbed into the back seat of the land rover while Ginger and Theo got in with Alice. I got in the driver's seat as Feli got it beside me and told me to hit it. So I did.

**Marcus **

Yanking the Kukri out of the undead's skull, I flicked my wrist to get the blood and gore off the blade. I heard the sound of blade cutting bone and turned just in time to see the Malay soldier, Amir, mirroring my own movements but in an almost casual manner. It was like the guy was bored. I found it hard to believe how anyone could be relaxed in this situation and probably would have written the guy off as a rookie but I knew he was far from it after I'd seen him fight.

"Come on, I saw the parking garage this way." He gestured.

We swiftly but silently moved further down the street, cutting through a few alleys, which, not to brag or anything, is not an easy task for someone with a prosthetic. We needed a vehicle to get out of town and check out the safe zone and really, finding one wasn't difficult at all, what with all the abandoned cars on the roads. Not to mention both of us could hotwire a car. However, starting an engine made noise and we wanted to make sure not to draw attention to the others. Within minutes, we came across a 5 story building filled with an assortment of vehicles that would likely never be touched by their owners again.

We moved towards a larger sized van, looking for something that could hold potential survivors if things went south. The thought of the safe zone being overrun and the two people I was looking for gone put a lump in my throat but I swallowed it back down.

_They'll be fine. She'll be fine. She's his daughter after all._

I let out a quiet sigh to myself as I stowed my AR-15 next to my seat while Amir started up the van. The wife and daughter of my former commanding officer, and the man who saved my life, were here somewhere. And I was going to find them.

**Patrick**

_Holy Shit!_

Everyone's faces depicted exactly what I was thinking when we caught our first sight of Feli's house.

_A house? The place was a freaking mansion. What, was she freaking Batman's sister or something?_

The gigantic building was adorned in countless European style decorations and even had the fountain with the angel statues in the courtyard. Mina cut the engine and we all stepped out, gaping at the majestic piece of architecture. I never even knew there was something like this in Comet! I heard the sound of another engine and turned to see a smallish red Hyundai pull up behind us. Recognizing it, I scurried behind Mina and hid behind her.

"Protect me please, don't let her hurt me." Mina giggled at the jab at Wolf just as the crazy girl stepped out of the car, surprisingly without her signature scowl. One of the back doors opened and a huge blur of black and white flew out before coming to a stop beside Wolf.

"SWEET MOTHER OF JESUS, is that why they call you Wolf?!" She turned and glared at me but call me crazy, it looked like there were the faint traces of a smile playing on her lips. The other 3 got out as well, Mike and Kyle looking rather solemn. Something must have went down. David, stared in awe of the mansion and walked straight to Phil. I noticed a large bruise on his cheek and skipped over to him and nudged him in the hip as he walked.

"You got on her nerves eh, mate?"

"That obvious, huh."

"I take it you got floored by a chick?"

"By a- Dude, take a good long look at her. Does she look like a chick to you?"

"Actually, yeah." It was true, if not for her scowl, at first glance, Wolf looked just like any other normal punk girl out there.

"Yeah, well, that _thing _puts the falcon punch to shame." I chuckled as Phil came to meet him.

"What happened to your face?"

"Need you even ask, mate? Someone got destroyed by a girl." I chimed playfully as David shot me a glare. Phil stifled a laugh and smile.

"Happens to the best of us, bro. My girlfriend used to mop the floor with me in fencing all the time."

"Your girlfriend? Where is she?" David questioned. Phil's expression instantly changed, clearly regretting what he'd said. His face turned into a mix of panic, sadness and at the same time, embarrassment as he struggled to find an answer.

"Urm- ah-" He never got to finish. Just then, a third vehicle, the land rover that Kaede's group had taken drove straight up to us. Taka and Feli hopped out of the front seats and walked straight to us.

"Christmas is early this year. We found enough food and water to last us 2 weeks, easy. If we ration it, probably longer." Feli got straight down to business. My playfulness was gone and replaced instead with a sudden rush of concern.

"Where's Alice and Kaede?" Feli turned to me and looked almost embarrassed. My question was partially answered when Alice stepped out of the car and slowly slouched her way to a deserted area, clearly wanting to be alone.

"What happened?" Everyone looked moderately surprised at the seriousness in my voice and I didn't blame them. I was almost never serious except when things got really bad. Seeing Alice like that was about as bad as it got. Feli did not know what to say so Taka put his hand on my shoulder, with a comforting look on his face.

"They haven't told me either, but maybe it'd be better if Alice or Kaede told you themselves…" We held each others gazes for a moment before I strode towards the car. Ginger and Theo had gotten out as well but Kaede had not. I peered into the window and saw her and another smaller and younger girl asleep in the back seat, with an ear piece in one of each of their ears connected to an mp3 player in Kaede's hand. Kaede looked so peaceful in her sleep, almost as though nothing was wrong but I noticed the bruises on her face and the telltale markings of dried tears on her cheeks.

Not wanting to wake her up, I turned my attention to Alice instead, who was know sitting under a tree with her knees tucked to her chest. I quietly sat down next to her and we simply sat there silently for what felt like an eternity. Finally, she broke the silence.

"You're not going to ask what happened?"

"I figure if you want to tell me, you will." She let out a sigh and continued staring out into blank space for a little while more.

"I hurt her, Pat."

"I find that hard to believe, Alice."

"No, I did. I-… My parents are dead, Patrick. And she was the one who had to put them down to protect me. She saved both Feli's and my life. But I was just so heartbroken at the time, in so much pain, and she was just right there, I just-" She choked up and I put my arm around her shoulders.

"I messed up, Pat. I told her I wished she were dead. Do you know what that would do to her?" She broke out into sobs and tears as I pulled her closer.

"Shhh, it's okay. I just saw her, sure she looks a little banged up, but she looks alright."

"She'll never forgive me. Back at her house, she couldn't even look at me."

"Alice, you know as well as I do that's not true. Hate and blame do not apply to her. Knowing her, she probably feels she did something bad to you and feels guilty herself. You know her better than I do, so you know I'm right." Alice sniffed, not really looking convinced but calmed and relaxed a little.

"Maybe…"

"Just give her time. Our little one is air-headed, not stupid enough that she doesn't realize she's hurt." That earned a weak smile from Alice and I held one o my best friends in my arms comforting her. I absently wondered if something would have happened between us if I wasn't gay.

**Kyoya**

Watching Kaede sleep was such a beautiful sight. The serenity practically radiated from her, as though she was a representation of everything peaceful and good left in the world. Unfortunately, my damaged libido also sent some very inappropriate images into my head.

_The petite girl lay naked on the silk sheets, one hand over one of her small but firm breast, her sparkling hazel eye looking up at me as I lowered my body onto her._

I shook my head, blushing furiously. I didn't want to have these thoughts about her but ever since that incident, my damaged brain caused my libido to cause rampant and it had been almost a day since I had "released". If I didn't get it done soon, I didn't know if I would be able to control myself. I took another look at Kaede whose eyelid was starting to flutter. A sudden image of me forcing myself onto her emerged in my mind and fear rose in my throat.

_No, I can't._

_Why not? Just look at her. Her precious little body is practically begging for it._

_No! Shut up!_

My fear pushed me into action. I shouted to the others that I desperately needed to use the bathroom and ran into the bushes. I ran for a few hundred meters, careful not to lose my way by sticking close to the estate's fence, until I was confident that I would not be disturbed. I was at my limit and I knew I had to do it NOW. There was no time for filtering my thoughts, no time to control what I "released" to. I pulled down my garments and got to work, my mind filled with nothing but erotic thoughts of the small one-eyed girl.

**Bleh, okay I wrote this over the course of two days. I finished Taka's P.O.V in school but just had a monster block and nothing would go down on paper. This chapter was pretty weird to write for me and writing something of such sexual nature is still kind of alien to me. Probably helps that someone bought me Nekopara hehehe *****blushes***** NO, DON'T GOOGLE IT. I will not be responsible for corrupting you guys who are younger. I have a relatively good idea on the coming plot points so hopefully the next few chapters will be easier to write. But I completely forgot that Kyoya is a bishounen and now I'm trying to think of a way to write it in :/ Ideas anyone? Hahaha I feel bad that literally no one has told Taka anything. There's nothing more annoying than being the only one left out of the loop. Okie anywaaaaay**

** Ancientblue Okay I'm so out of it that I almost typed your name as "Asianblue" x.x Well well, molesting each other between girls is pretty commonplace around here haha, the girls in all girls schools literally spend all day lifting up each others skirts. Of course, it happens to me also but I shall not confirm whether I enjoy it or not ;P I'm quite surprised that you weren't actually referencing Magnus Bane from Mortal Instruments, that's such a strange coincidence haha He seems like the perfect guy for Patrick. About that lesbian scene, I've been reading quite a bit of yuri recently sooooo…. ;) **

** Hikari_Angel Thanks for the birthday wish! I'm like a week late on that hahaha blurgh, anyway, yeah I know! Dogs are just sooooo adorable regardless of how fierce they look. I don't think I've ever met a dog that ever intimidated me, even slightly but maybe its just me. Every dog I meet is just friendly and lovey-dovey to me, even those that usually bark at everyone xD I'd personally never trust the army, especially the one my country has. Everyone in there is a conscript who just wants out lol**

** PandaGurl13 We can pretend that I'm really an 11 year old! Besides, I may be 19 but everyone I know still sees me as a child cos well, I'm just really really immature haha I legit, go to school in pokemon onesies every so often and meow in people's ears ;P Don't worry though, I may not seem like it on the surface but anyone would have a hard time being as perverted as I am hahaha 3**

**Welp, it's 1.40am now so Kiyumie-Chan is a sleepy girl. Therefore she shall go to sleep now :) I should really get around to playing resident evil 2 since I bought it but never played it. Would probably give me some good ideas. Jaa, oyasumi, minna 3**


	17. Chapter 12: Now or Never

**Mashona**

I quietly watched the others discuss the events that had transpired since we split up. I personally didn't feel all too involved so I sat away from the high schoolers and lost myself in my own thoughts. A lump rose in my throat as my foster sister slowly filled my mind.

_Did she suffer? Was she now one of those…. things, shambling around?_

I didn't have the courage to ask the others how it happened.

_Oh Sam…_

I felt my eyes start to water but managed to keep myself from crying. Sam was always so cheerful, so eager to make everyone around her happy. I knew she'd hate to see me like this. But the death of one of the people I loved the most was not something that could be buried easily.

"Heads up." I looked up just in time to see something flying towards me. Reflexively, I snatched it out of the air with surprisingly good reflexes. I glanced down and saw a bottle of cold beer dripping condensation into my palm.

"Feli said the kitchen is free for everyone." Phil smirked before sitting down next to me and popped the cap from his own bottle before taking a long gulp from it.

"Gaaahhh, god damn, that girl keeps some good shit in that fridge." He exclaimed with a gasp, his cheeks turning a little red. I looked down at my own bottle and examined it. It wasn't a brand that I recognized, not that I'm much of an alcoholic, but it looked really expensive. If I weren't as down as I was at the moment, I'd be in total marvel of how rich that Italian girl, Feli, was. Ironman and Batman could both be taking notes.

"So… How you holding up?" I turned back to Phil, who was not looking at me, instead still staring at his bottle, which he turned in his hands. The smile was still on his lips but his eyes had turned somewhat gloomy and sad.

"I'd be lying if I said I was fine."

"Well that's understandable. This is usually the part where everyone's like "We're here for you" or "Your sister wouldn't want to see you like that" but I never had the taste for that patronizing bullshit."

"Huh." It was all I could manage to his surprising reply. We sat in silence for maybe 2 whole minutes.

"Welp, I better go see if anyone needs help. I honestly don't trust Patrick alone with any of the guys. Anyway, I just wanted you to know, if you ever want to talk to someone who knows what it's like to lose someone, I'm here if you need me." He said with a wry smile before getting to his feet and walking towards the living room archway. I looked past him and saw Patrick shamelessly try to push himself against Kyoya, who looked very much like a very cute girl. The poor kid was awkwardly trying to move away but failing miserably.

Right as Phil reached the archway, I spoke.

"Who'd you lose?" Phil stopped, his hand pressed against the wall. He didn't turn and simply stood there silently for a while.

"Everything." With that, he disappeared around the corner without turning once.

**Ginger**

Theo playfully pulled the hood of Kaede's "Ask me about my zombie plan" hoodie over her face, making Alex, Brandon's kid sister, and Yuki giggle. Kaede, gently pushed the tip of the hood back up with her finger, revealing her soft eye and a small smile on her lips. I watched Theo entertain them further, quite impressed at how good she was with children. Yes, I'm counting Kaede as a child, even though she's older than me. There was none of that annoying baby talk that I could never stand when I was younger; Theo treated them as equals, all the while still appealing to their childish aspects.

"You're really good with them." I blurted out, not wanting to outright call Kaede a kid, who was making it an exceedingly hard thing to do as she lifted up her hands like paws and started meowing at the two young girls. Luckily, Theo caught onto what I meant.

"Back when I lived in the city, I used to teach martial arts to the younger students for my cousin. Even though I moved here a few months ago, I guess some things stick with you." It occurred to me that Theo would make an incredible mother, and it wasn't just the posh British refinement stereotype. Kaede turned to me, still in the cat pose, and tilted her head slightly, careful not to let her bangs fall away from her blind eye. She gave a long meow that genuinely actually sounded like a kitten and I blushed. Now, I normally pride myself on having a godlike poker face but seriously, how do you beat… _that? _It was both adorable and weird on so many levels.

Taking after her role model, Yuki started mimicking Kaede's pose and tried to meow as well but couldn't do it nearly as well as the older girl. Feeling discouraged, she started to pout but Kaede moved over on her knees and rubbed her on the head.

"Daijoubu, Yuki-Chan. It just takes practice." The words worked magic and Yuki's expression instantly brightened up. I continued watching them for a while more before deciding to change my clothes. I let Theo know before making my way to one of the million bathrooms in the mansion after grabbing my backpack. Jesus, if I strayed too far, I'd need a GPS to get myself un-lost. Just what did Feli's family do?

Digging into my bag, I pulled out a gray t-shirt with a bleeding broken heart on the front, a pair of faded blue overall shorts and a fresh set of underwear. I was suddenly extremely conscious of how sweaty I was. I hadn't intended to at first, but upon seeing the bathtub in front of me, I figured I might as well take advantage of the situation. I'd never had a bubble bath before and since it was very possible that I could be eaten tomorrow, it was now or never. I undressed myself and pulled my towel out of my bag. Something small came out with it and landed on the floor. Putting my towel down, I bent down and picked it up. It was a small hair clip with a flower on it and I shuddered at how this unbelievably girly girl accessory was sitting in my bag.

_I NEVER wear these kinds of things, what the heck is this doing in…_

My eyes widened as I suddenly recognized it. It was as though the clip had suddenly turned corrosive and was burning my fingers and I dropped it. It was the clip that my older cousin, Joshua, had given to me on my birthday last year, right before he tried to rape me. What the fuck was that THING doing in my bag? I gasped when I realized that he must have dropped it inside to remind me that he'd even managed to turn my own sister against me. To torment me. A single tear fell from my eye as I remembered the events that had transpired last year. My older sister, Blithe, had found out about Joshua's "secret" and confronted him about it. But somehow, the weasel had managed to twist it so that she thought I was the one coming onto him. An unbelievable pain shot into my chest as I remembered how she had taken his side and believed him over me, her own sister.

My knees grew weak and I slid to the floor, resting my back against the tub and wrapped my arms around my naked body. I don't know how long I sat there for, but it must have been pretty long because I heard a knock on the door.

"Ginger? Is that you in there, love?"

_Theo._

"Urm, yeah! What's up?" I said trying my hardest to keep my voice neutral. I swear, I should have quit school and became a professional gambler.

"Oh, I was just wondering what was taking so long for a change of clothes. Feli came and got Kaede for something so the two little ones are just playing themselves now."

"Oh, I decided to take a bubble bath. I never had a tub at my place and when I saw this one, I just couldn't resist." I could practically see Theo grinning to herself behind the door.

"Ah! Couldn't resist the rubber ducky eh? I supposed I'd be pushing it if I asked if I could join you?" Despite myself, I couldn't help but laugh and god did it feel good. I couldn't even remember the last time I laughed. Clearly, this was enough to spark Theo's attention because her voice was a little worried when she spoke next.

"You sure you alright, love?"

"I am now. Thank you, Theo. No you can't come in, I'll be out in about 20 minutes."

"Aww. Alright then, have fun in there." Her voice was a mix of confusion and mock disappointment as I heard her footsteps moving away from the door. I picked up the hair clip and stared at it for a little before casually snapping it in two and tossing the pieces in the bin. I filled up the tub and let myself revel in the soothing hot water, feeling as though I was in heaven, and let all my past pains wash away.

_Huh, guess a zombie apocalypse is good for something after all. _

**Phil**

The conversation with Mashona had brought up some very unpleasant memories, especially after what he'd asked. I strolled around the hallways trying to clear my head and I was ever so aware of the phantom footsteps trailing behind me.

"You okay, babe?" I stopped and turned around, face to face with my dead girlfriend.

"Yeah, it's just, I keep thinking about that day. I know it's stupid, but I keep trying to think of how things could have gone differently, how I could save you." I looked down to my feet, unable to look at Lane anymore.

"Hey…" I _felt _her hand on my chin as she lifted my eyes to hers. Sometimes I wondered if I _was _crazy. Her beautiful green eyes stared straight into my soul and I decided I didn't care if I was as long as I could keep seeing those eyes.

"It was a car accident, Phil. No one could have stopped it, not me, not you. It's just how life works."

"Yeah, well… Oh, I don't know. You keep saying that but I don't even know if you're really Lane or just a figment of my imagination."

"Babe, you and I knew everything about each other. Maybe I'm really my own spirit, or maybe I'm just in your head, but either way, you know exactly who I was, everything I would say. So is there really any difference? Either way, I'm still the girl you meant everything to."

I could feel my eyes water and I realized she was right. I knew exactly what she was. She was everything of Lane that lived inside of me. It sounds cheesy as hell, but it's true. I gave her the strongest smile I could muster and she smiled back before kissing me straight on the lips. Her lips were as soft as I remembered and it felt as though the day she'd died never happened. Reluctantly, we slowly pulled apart.

"Thanks, babe. But maybe the hallway isn't the best place." A cheeky grin formed on her lips as she stepped back, with her hands behind her back.

"Ah yes, I can see it now. One of the others is going to walk by and see you in a hot, passionate kiss with the majestic thin air ask what on earth is going on. Caught in the act, you'll have no choice but to reply, "Oh, I was just kissing my wonderful, beautiful but dead girlfriend"." She finished by twirling her finger around her ear, signifying craziness with a goofy look on her face.

"Thanks for that flattering image." I chuckled. I was interrupted when I heard a loud sob echo off the walls. Turning to the noise, I stared down the hallway but it was empty. I turned back to Lane who had a puzzled look on her face as well.

"One of the rooms?" Lane simply shrugged. I slowly moved towards the noise, feeling cautious. Feli had said that the mansion was empty as her family was "out of town" and the employees only came when she was at home. I'd heard rumors about the Italian girl, how she'd taken over her own mafia from her father and had been forced to fight her siblings to the death in her youth for the right to be successor. It sounded like a bad Michael Bay movie but it definitely explained her fighting and leadership skills.

I started hearing softer sobs as I continued down the hall until I came across an open door, the source of the noise. I peered inside and saw a girl sitting alone against a bed with her face buried into her knees, her body heaving as she sobbed. I'd recognize that lacy skirt anywhere. I slowly approached Alice and cleared my throat to get her attention. She started and gasped, turning her head sharply to face me.

"Urm, you okay?" I said lamely.

_God damn it, where did my smooth talking with Mashona go?_

"Do I look okay?" She snapped.

"Point." She sniffed and rubbed her eyes, trying to compose herself.

"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for."

"It's fine, we're all having a bad day. I'm sorry about your parents."

"Yeah well, I wouldn't be feeling this bad if that was all it is." She mumbled.

Ah. Feli had told Taka and me what had happened between Alice and Kaede.

"Why don't you go apologize to her?"

"I want to! But the way she looks at me, or rather how she CAN'T look at me, like she feels she's responsible for all my pain…" Alice's voice had rose to a near scream before falling back to a whisper. I stayed quiet and let her continue.

"Patrick said that she's not angry at me. I know that. That's just not how Kaede thinks. Fuck, I wish she were mad at me. I'd rather she scream and shout at me, hit me even, than seeing her look like she feels she's not worthy of my forgiveness, like its not really the other way around." She wrapped her arms around her knees, her eyes an expression of pure anguish.

Without a word, I walked in front of her and squatted down, trying my best to get low enough to look up into her eyes, which believe me, was not an easy thing to do when I was 6'4'' and she, 5'4''.

"Tell her how you feel." I cringed at how it sounded like I was telling her to confess a lesbian love but she took no notice.

"I can't…"

"Look. My girlfriend, Lane, was everything to me. I loved everything about her, her laugh, her eyes, the way she looked at me sometimes like I was the dumbest person she'd ever met. I spent every second I could grab with her until I lost her 3 years ago." Alice's expression grew confused.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because look around you. You don't know how much time you have in this world. You don't know how much time she does. I spent that much time with Lane, and let me tell you, it wasn't enough and it didn't matter even if we had more time. It would never be enough, not even if we grew old together. So let me ask you this. Who is the most important person to you right now."

"She is…" Alice whispered quietly.

"Okay, now let me ask you another question. If you were to suddenly die right now, or if it happened to her, is this how you want things to be with each other at the end?" Alice didn't respond but shook her head. I stood up and held out my hand towards her as she looked up at me.

"Come on. She's in the basement with Feli. It's now or never."

**Catherine**

I awkwardly watched Patrick try to fondle Kyoya who was desperately trying to escape the Irish boy's wrath. Patrick wrapped his arms around Kyoya and rubbed his face against the Japanese bishounen boy who was blushing profusely. It never occurred to me before how much he looked like a girl, he was pretty much the definition of a trap.

"Pa-Patrick, please stop."

"Oh come on, you can't simply be this adorable and get away with it, it's a crime against humanity!"

"Bu-but, I'm str-straight."

"Don't be like that, if we turn off the lights, you couldn't even tell! I could even pretend to be Kaede." The last part was purred seductively straight into Kyoya's ear, almost too soft for the rest of us to hear. Almost. I heard a groan to my left and saw Taka with his elbows on his knees, rubbing his temples.

"This is a major case of déjà vu…." He mumbled, which made me wonder what had happened while he was surrounded with all those girls.

Despite everything, I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at how easily everyone had gotten friendly with one another. The only person I'd seriously talked to was Kaede and it didn't feel right clinging to her when she was like this.

I suddenly saw Mike and Kyle walk towards the kitchen together. I realized that those two were always on their own together. It was either them or… Wolf… I glanced at the corner of the vast living room and saw her standing sitting on a chair next to her large dog, Bear, who was playfully playing with Yuki's puppy, Kuro. The two dogs had instantly hit off with one another, being the same breed, and were playfully sniffing each other and poking each other gently with their paws. Wolf didn't look all too happy with her companion acting like a puppy and I could almost see the vein throbbing in her temple as she squeezed her eyes shut and struggled to keep herself from yelling. David was awkwardly scratching his head and smiling, ready to jump in and run away with the little puppy if things went south.

_Yup, Mike and Kyle it is. Now or never._

I got up, absently mentioning that I was going to get a drink before following the two guys into the kitchen.

"Hey, mind if I hang out with you guys?" I said as they pulled bottles of beer out of the refrigerator. They turned to me before looking at each other.

"Sure." Kyle nodded. Wanting to feel more in place, I confidently walked up to them and pulled a bottle of beer out as well. I'd never had alcohol before and if my dad saw me now, he'd kill me. Like literally throw me in a furnace like Freddy Krueger, kill me. The two guys looked at me uncertainly.

"You sure about that? Aren't you a little too young to be drinking?" Wanting to look cool, I simply scoffed and popped the cap.

"Pfft, I do this all the time. Beer's the greatest." I lied before taking a mouthful. It didn't stay in my mouth long because the moment the horrendous taste touched my tongue I spit it out dramatically and theatrically. It put the Merlion back in Singapore to shame.

I continued to spit before rubbing my tongue with my hand and that failing, put my mouth under the tap and let it rip. The two guys laughed so hard they almost dropped their own beers. My cheeks burned completely red and the alcohol had nothing to do with it.

"Tastes like cat piss doesn't it?"

"Bleh, how do people even drink that shit?"

"Age old question for the ancients." Mike chuckled, handing my a napkin to dry my face.

"I feel like a total moron…" That earned a warm smile from the two boys.

"Eh, we all have our moments. I used to do absolutely everything to make my older half brother think I was cool." Kyle said.

"You don't have to act like a big shot around us, we're chill dudes." Mike smiled. Somehow I got the impression of Mario and Luigi from Super Mario from how well these two went together. I was still blushing, feeling incredibly awkward but their warm welcoming smiles did wonders to put me at ease. We started chatting about what our lives had been like before and even though my social awkwardness came into play countless times, they simply laughed it off.

I really felt like I finally had my own clique, something that I'd never managed before. Kyle told us about how his dad had another family before his and that he'd met his half brother by pure chance. His father had died as he was entering his teens and finally told him about his previous family. Ever since he'd met his half-brother, Matt, in a chess game, he'd realized that he liked him and went from feeling betrayed to wanting Matt's approval. He had the support of both his mother and Matt's mother but Matt himself found it hard to accept him. Regardless, the two moved to Comet alone, together in an effort to bond.

Mike told us about how his mother had died when he was 15 and he'd become a delinquent, unable to cope, and causing all sorts of trouble. However, his dad finally talked sense into him to do his mother proud, instead of destroying everything she'd worked for in raising him when he'd been alive. A sad smile grew across his face at the mention of this and Kyle looked at him with concern.

Mike waved him off and turned the attention to me, asking about me.

Compared to them, I was pretty boring apart from my mother dying when I was 3. I never even knew her so I wasn't really that affected by her death although I was sometimes wistful about not having a mother.

"What about your dad?" Mike asked, his face turning serious.

"We checked all our houses but everyone was already evacuated." Mike simply nodded, his face completely blank as he stared at his beer bottle. I looked to Kyle questioningly who simply gave me a sad look. I understood.

"Guys! Come quick! Holy shit, you are NOT going to believe this!" Patrick shouted from the living room. We all looked at each other before getting up to go find out what the fuss was about.

**Feli**

"This is for me?" Kaede stared in awe at the long sheath I had dropped in her arms.

"Yup. It was a gift from my instructor, but this-" I hefted my vintage saber in its sheath. "-is more my style."

"Kaede thought you didn't want her to fight?" She looked uncertainly at me.

"Well yeah, of course I don't. But I also know you're way too air-headed and stubborn to listen to me. SO, I want to make sure you can fight at your very best, at the very least." She pouted adorably and grumbled.

"Kaede is not air-headed…" I grabbed her cheeks and pulled on them and she made a weird but cute sound.

"Keep telling yourself that sweetie." I smiled at her. She smiled weakly before looking around her at the training room that was built in my basement.

"What is this place?"

"This is where I trained in sword fighting and martial arts. Its kind of required in my family's, ah, "line of work". We spent a lot setting up military grade training equipment. There's even a firing range over there."

"You have guns?"

"Urm, ah, enough about that. See these dummy targets here?" I walked over to the melee training area as I spoke. I gestured at the multiple wooden targets, worn with multiple cuts and splinters from past use, next to me.

"These are completely solid and it was what we used to train our strokes. So when you can do THIS-" I drew my saber in a lightning motion as I spoke, slashing the wooden target straight through the chest with all my strength in an upward arc, cleanly bisecting it. "-You should have no trouble with "soft" targets." She stared at me in awe, clapping her hands together, the sheath still between them.

"Sugoi, Onee-Chan!" I bowed before stepping aside.

"Now your turn." Her eye widened and she looked at me uncertainly. I nodded reassuringly, giving her my full support.

"It's okay. Come on. It's now or never. Show your Onee-Chan just why everyone in Kendo feared you, show me that you can protect everyone." She gasped, her eyes widened as the gears turned in her head. Then, a small smirk appeared on her lips, barely even visible as she closed her eye and slowly drew the ornate katana from its sheath. Sekisetsu, or in English "Snowfall". It was a one of a kind blade forged by a renowned blacksmith who lived in the snowy mountains in Japan. The blacksmith's ancestor went back all the way to the days of the samurai, forging blades for countless legendary warriors. The blade had a hilt as white as winter with steel just as cold. I was told that it was near unbreakable. It had been bestowed upon my instructor in fencing and kendo, Madame Kayako Shikimori, the finest bladesmaster Japan had to offer. She had passed it on to me as a parting gift when she returned to her homeland. I wondered how she was faring in these days.

Kaede let out a slow breathe as she straightened her sword arm. Without warning, her eye burst open and she shot forward, almost too fast for me to track her. She closed the distance between us in a second and flew straight past me, cleaving the head from a dummy without even stopping, using her speed to power her strike. Without stopping, she whirled her body in a round house, grasping Sekisetsu's hilt with both her hands before bringing it straight down, vertically bisecting a second. Shooting her foot forward, she skidded straight in front of a third dummy, all the while twirling the blade in her hand into a reverse grip before sending it straight through the chin of the dummy's head.

I let out a long whistle, thoroughly impressed by her ability. Taka and I had seen her fight in kendo club before and while we were still the superior fighters, we both knew that Kaede was almost obscenely gifted in combat, and could easily surpass us with experience. Despite her air-headedness, she was almost a genius when it came to fighting, she knew exactly where to target for maximum effectiveness and how to take advantage of her opponents' weaknesses, constantly improvising on the fly. Her one weakness was that she had trouble with one on one fights against opponents who were skilled enough not to give her the openings she needed to compensate for her lack of actual physical power.

I clapped for her and I saw the softness return to her eye, her cheeks turning pink before we both heard a cough coming from the stairwell. I turned and saw Phil with an impressed smile on his face standing next to an amazed Alice whose expression was a mix of sadness, awe and embarrassment. They both started walking towards us when I heard the sound of metal hitting the floor. I turned back to Kaede to see that she had dropped both the katana and its sheath, her eye wide open and her lips slightly parted. A pained look drew across her face as she looked down at her feet before quickly walking towards the stairs.

"I'm going to see how Yuki is doing…" She whispered, not once looking up. Alice's expression grew pained as well as Kaede walked past her. Before Kaede completely passed her, she shot her hand out and grabbed the smaller girl by the arm, gentle enough that she wasn't hurting her but firm enough that Kaede stopped, still looking at her feet. Phil's smile faded away as he nodded to me. I nodded back and followed him towards the stairs.

"We'll be in the stairwell if you need us." I whispered as I passed the two girls.

With that, we left them to sort things out themselves.

**Kaede**

Alice and I both listened to Phil and Onee-Chan's footsteps disappearing up the stairs. I continued to stare at my feet, unable to turn myself to face Alice. Guilt soared through my body and echoed through every inch of me.

_I caused her so much pain. I murdered her parents. How can I even look at her?_

As though hearing my thoughts, Alice put her hands on my shoulders and turned me towards her. Even then, I couldn't look at her and I still stared at the floor.

"Will you please look at me?" Her voice cracked in pain causing my heart, still raw from before, to split apart again. Fighting against my own pain, I somehow managed to twist my head to look her in the eye. Tears had started to pour from her eyes and her features were twisted in pain and her teeth were gritted. I felt my cheek get wet and realized that I was crying as well. I could do nothing but stare back at her, paralyzed in heartbreak. We stared at each other for a while before she couldn't take it anymore.

"Why won't you say something? Why won't you shout at me? Scold me for being an idiot?" I couldn't reply with anything apart from a single sob and she looked down, her grip loosening.

"I knew it… You think it's your fault…"

I finally found some strength to whisper.

"I-I'm sorry… I murdered your parents… How can you stand the sight of me… How can you ever forgive me…" Her eyes widened and a look of absolute horror overtook her face.

"NO! You have nothing to be sorry for! Jesus, you really DON'T know anything!" It was the same words she'd used before but her tone was completely different. I was filled with utter conflict, not knowing how to react.

"Kae, you protected me. My parents were already dead. Even then, I knew but I was too much of a coward to accept it. I almost died and you saved me and what did I do? I took my pain out on you, the one person I know who would never hurt me. Oh god, Kae, I'm so so sorry…" She sobbed before wrapping her arms around me and crying her heart out.

I was completely shell shocked, my emotions a hurricane within me. Unable to handle, I let it all out, my knees giving away as I fell onto her and started crying out. I let go of all my remaining pain.

**Feli**

I listened to the two girls cry after their reconciliation and closed my eyes, smiling softly.

"About time." I whispered. Phil put his hand on my shoulder and smiled warmly at me, which I returned.

"I suppose I have you to thank for giving that silly girl a push?"

"Who knows?" He replied whimsically. Just then I heard a commotion coming from upstairs.

"Guys! Come quick! Holy shit, you are NOT going to believe this!" Patrick shouted like a child on Christmas morning.

"What the hell?" I frowned. What on earth could get him so excited… My eyes widened when I remembered the secret room behind my bookcase.

_Oh shit, the armory!_

**Blargh, Kiyumie-Chan here desu ne ^3^ I've been hella busy for the past week and will probably continue to be for the next week or 2 so I hardly have time to write. HOWEVER, my 8 week vacation comes after that so I'll have plenty of time on my hands then, assuming I'm not working as a waitress for my dad. Haha, yes, the idea of Kiyumie waiting tables. Hilarious. A confession though, I do have some free time but I've been engrossed in a lot of animes lately, Nanatsu no Taizai, Akatsuki no Yona, World Trigger and a few others, but probably topping the list is Tokyo Ghoul Root A :D They've probably been taking up a lot of my writing time eh he he he he *****scratches head***** Now then, on to replies!**

**666funtimes- NO, I SWEAR NEKOPARA IS NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. WELL IT IS BUT I ONLY LIKE IT BECAUSE AH, URM, I LIKE THE ST-STORY T.T**

**enarmonios- I intend for the safe zone to come in possibly a chapter or two. Maybe I'll write one obscenely long chapter, hmm who knows**

**Ancientblue- I've watched so many animes and shows involving parallel dimensions but when I want to use one as an example, I just airhead and cant think of any -_- Bleh, I honestly think Kaede would just be besties with everyone ^.^ Well. Until she goes full mirai nikki. I TOTALLY FORGOT WHAT KYOYA LOOKED LIKE, I'M AN AIRHEAD IM SORRY. GOMEN NA SAI PATRICK.**

**Patrick: I'm still not forgiving you.**

**Me: OH COME ON, I LET YOU GO FULL FELI ON HIM THIS CHAPTER.**

**Patrick: Nope, drown in your airhead tears.**

**Me: I crai ;_; Anyway urm, since everyone's families, well almost everyone, were evacuated, I skipped them visiting their houses and cut straight to the group's reunion. But Phil lives alone in town as his only "family" are his girlfriend's parents who live close to L.A. DON'T RUB IT IN. I WAS ALL ALONE IN SCHOOL AND GOT CAUGHT ALONE BY SOME GUY WHO DECIDED TO COME HARASS ME UNTIL I WENT TO HIDE IN THE GIRL'S BATHROOM.**

**Mikendall- Thanks! Sorry it took so long to get him in though ._.**

**ShinBP- Oh lord, as perverted as I am, that's going too far xD I'd probably hit my boyfriend, or heck, my brother if they tried that in front of me. **

**Awesome D.T- Gahahahaha oh lord, I laughed a lot harder than I should have when I read that on the bus xD I wonder what a Pat x Kaede pairing would be called :O hmm Paede? Or urm Katrick? OH GOD LOL I was thinking of what kind of house Feli would live in and was totally like, YUP DEFINITELY BATMAN. I don't know what made me write those angel figures in haha these random things just pop into my head, like Ginger's lava lamp. ^.^ Taka totally missed the opportunity for a harem but I figure he's had enough of all the raging female hormones going on around him xD As for who Marcus is talking about, we'll see…. ;)**


	18. Chapter 13:Training Day

**Meowwww okay well, first things first, I've been playing around with an idea for another story right now and after playing Dying Light, I think I finally have a finalized idea for what this new world within H.O.T.D will be like. Tbh, it strays really far from the H.O.T.D and can be seen as a standalone zombie story but eh. Anyways, I might start it pretty soon alongside this one and don't worry, All That We Are will DEFINITELY get finished :) I'm actually supposed to be rushing 2 assignments that are due on Monday but I'm too lazy hahaha I should have a PhD in procrastination. RIP sleep :/ **

**Add on: I stopped halfway for a few days cos of a few things, one was my projects, two, I'm trying to figure out how to unblock my right ear cos im currently almost half deaf and three, probably the biggest reason, was that I was in a car accident. I was walking through a parking lot and a car backed out into me. I had music on so I didn't hear the car start. It was just a bump so thankfully nothing was broken but I have a bad sprain on my ankle that's super swollen and pretty heavy bruising on my thigh and knee :/ So I won't be able to walk for a few weeks depending on how long it takes for me to recover haha so yeahhh that's whats going on. On the bright side, I have 3 wonderful people babying me and my brother's gf showered with me to help me bathe and get dressed and stuff. Ever seen heard two girls shower together before? You just hear tons of splashing and a million "YOU SLUT" through the door haha**

**David**

_What's the date because last I checked, we were nowhere near Christmas._

We all gawked in awe at the majestic view before us. God knows how Brandon managed to find the entrance to this room but it was the most beautiful thing we'd seen all day.

"I think I'm in love…" Taka blurted out, his eyes wide as saucers. Guns. Rows and rows and rows of pure metal firepower. There was enough hardware in here to arm a small army.

"What the flying freak does Feli's family do?" I mumbled.

"What, you numbnuts didn't know?" I turned to see Wolf's sarcastic smile but despite her efforts to hide it, I could tell that she was impressed as well.

"Didn't know what?"

"Why do you think I called her Little Don?"

I'm not sure why the gears in my head weren't working at that moment but I couldn't figure out what she meant. Right at that moment, a pair of running footsteps came crashing through the secret passage behind the bookcase in Feli's living room.

"Oh no…" I turned and saw Feli standing next to Phil, a look of embarrassment on her face while Phil's eyes widened and an all too familiar look of awestruck covered his face.

"I can explain." Feli said a little too quickly.

"Oh really? You can explain why you have Osama's Christmas list behind your book case?" Patrick said with an overly exaggerated questioning voice.

"Okay, okay, I know how this looks. And I'd probably be lying if I said it's not what you think." She looked pleadingly to Taka who shot her a sympathetic look. Well well, look who else was in on the secret.

"Okay some of you probably heard the rumors about my family. Taka knows. My family was kind of in the Al Capone line of work."

"Holy shit, you're in the mafia?" I exclaimed, finally connecting the dots.

"Well, I kind of urm, well, own it." She blushed and smiled, thoroughly embarrassed.

"So the rumors were true then? About how you rose to the top as well?" Phil asked. Feli simply nodded. I looked questioningly to both Patrick and Mina. It was obvious that, like me, they had no clue what was going on.

"Okay what are you talking about? What rumors?" I asked, getting slightly impatient. It was Taka who spoke next.

"Her father had multiple mistresses and many children. When she was younger, he dropped all of them into a jungle to fight to the death to earn the right to be his successor." I blinked and stared at the pink-haired girl with an expression of horror mixed with admiration.

"That's almost correct. It wasn't a fight to the death, it was first to the finish line. But it was life or death. Many of my siblings were killed either by each other or the wilderness." She said sadly, a pained look on her face as she recalled the memory.

"Your dad must've been a hardcore Hunger Games fangirl." Patrick chimed, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone had a chuckle at that. Feli then put her hands on her hips and addressed everyone.

"Right then. Cat's out of the bag anyway and there's probably no one left to use this stuff anyway, you guys wanna try some out?"

"You sure it's safe? Patrick might blow us all up." Mina giggled and Feli winked back.

"If he does, we can all make sure he never meets the cute guy of his dreams even in heaven."

"Okay, okay, that's going too far." Patrick exclaimed in mock outrage.

I walked over to the nearest shelf and picked up a medium sized gun.

"Yo, Brandon! What am I holding?"

"That right there is a UMP 45, made by Heckler and Kolch or HK for short. It takes the same ammo as this baby right here, .45." Brandon explained as he showed me his own handgun which was easily recognizable from Vietnam war movies even though his looked custom made. I turned to Feli and grinned.

"Can I shoot it?"

"What, in here? Fuck no." Just as she finished, 2 girls appeared behind her holding hands, wide-eyed and gawking at the weapon room. It took me a few moments to register that Kaede and Alice were holding hands.

"Woah…." Alice mumbled and Kaede simply nodded in agreement. I noticed that she had some kind of sword slung behind her back in a sheath. Everyone turned and were all surprised upon seeing the two joined hands before warm smiles grew on all our faces. No one said anything but it was a silent agreement that it was about time. In the corner of my eye, I even noticed another ghost of a smile on Wolf's face. The two youngest girls, Alex and Yuki both ran up to Kaede and jumped onto her, causing her to give a short yelp before falling to the floor, dragging Alice to the floor with her.

"Kaede-nee san, sugoi desu ne!"

"Oh gosh is that a real sword! You're so cool, Kaede!"

Kaede blushed and played with her ponytail with a small smile on her face while Alice simply beamed at her recently regained best friend. I felt a nudge on my ribs and saw Patrick staring up to me with distress in his eyes.

"Is that a katana. Is that Kaede with a flipping sword?!" He whispered and I nodded solemnly.

"Right then!" Feli announced while clapping her hands together.

"Pick out something to try and I'll show you guys where Kaede and I were for 30 minutes."

**Brandon**

Turns out that the mansion's basement was a fully equipped combat training center, military grade even. Even while we were in the armory, I'd noticed that a lot of the weapons were military grade and definitely had no place being behind a 17 year old girl's book case. Even if the whole mafia thing was true, this was ridiculous. Feli's family had some crazy connections. Everyone picked out weapons that they liked, most of them due to liking the look of the gun, if nothing else.

I stuck with Volo, my LE6020 SOCOM rifle along with Augie, my Colt 1911. David stuck with the UMP45 he'd picked out, while Mashona followed suit and picked the same gun. Mike opted for a Sig Sauer 556 rifle which admittedly wasn't a bad choice. Theo picked up an M110 sniper rifle while many of the others decided to stick with handguns. Being the resident military man, most of them came to me for advice and asked how to handle guns properly. Quite frankly, it felt pretty awkward to me as I had not interacted much with anyone other than Mashona.

"Okay, okay, as long as you keep the safety on when you're not shooting and don't point the gun at anything you don't intend to shoot, you should be good. You guys should try it out for yourself first."

Taking my advice everyone with guns set out for the shooting range while I played instructor and pointed out individual mistakes. In the corner of my eye, I noticed some of the kids who'd decided to stay melee moving for some practice with the training dummies. I noticed my sister, Alex and the other little girl, Yuki, both pestering Kaede to show off her fighting skills while she seemed slightly embarrassed and reluctant. I quietly cheered the two little girls on because ever since the others had discussed what had happened at Alice's house, I'd been curious as to what that tiny girl could do.

**Mina**

I quietly watched the others try out their new weapons, feeling extremely out of place. I hadn't chosen one because I wasn't a fighter. It was kind of cowardly but I didn't think I had it in me to kill someone, even if they were already dead.

"Couldn't find anything you like?" A playful voice sounded behind me. I turned and found Patrick smiling at me, holding a small handgun.

"I'm not a big fan of guns. I used to preach gun control."

"Really? I thought you had Tomb Raider written all over you." I laughed and mock punched him in the shoulder.

"What about you? Do you even know how to use that thing?"

"This thing right here is a Glock 17 chambered for the 9x19 Parabellum round and I'll have you know, I happen to be a genius with this kind of thing among everything else."

"You just repeated everything Brandon told you and have no idea what that means do you." I didn't even bother making it sound like a question.

"Madam, you wound me. Allow me to demonstrate." With an exaggerated air of confidence, he walked to a shooting station and I followed him.

Patrick aimed his handgun down range in a pose that suggested he'd been watching Taken. Time seemed to slow as he took a breathe and closed his eyes, as though this was an anime. In an overly dramatic fashion he opened his eyes and let out a breath before pulling the trigger.

Click.

Patrick continued looking as though he expected a bullet to come out before realizing that the gun had failed to fire. He blinked and looked down at the gun in confusion before repeatedly squeezing the trigger resulting in more clicks.

"Work dammit! Your Lord Patrick commands you!"

"You're supposed to chamber the round first! Even I knew that!" I laughed, hugging my sides and tears falling out of my eyes. He looked at me in disbelief before pulling the slide back and enlightenment filled his eyes. His cheeks turned bright red and he turned back to the firing range.

"I knew that, I was just testing you." He stammered as I tried to contain my giggles. He repeated his dramatic firing stance before firing. Clearly, someone wasn't expecting the noise and the recoil because he immediately dropped the gun in surprise. A wave of panic swept through as I quickly ran up to him.

"Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, yeah, holy shit that thing kicks really hard." After he composed himself, I let the playful smile return to my face before going to check his target. I laughed out loud when I saw where the bullet hole was. He'd hit right on the bullseye, but on the wrong target.

**Theo**

I fired the last shot in the magazine into the paper target before ejecting the spent magazine. Peering through the scope, I checked my handiwork to find a close grouping within the center 3 circles of the paper target. A clapping smile emitted behind me and I turned to find Ginger applauding my shooting and I gave a bow.

"Have you done this before? That's amazing for a high schooler."

"It's not all that hard, love. Once you get the hang of how it works, it isn't that difficult. Although, I might prefer a little something else." I said while eyeballing a pair of Desert Eagles I'd left on the table. Looking back to her, I held out the rifle.

"Wanna try?"

"What, me?!" Her eyes widened as I nodded.

"It'd be good if you knew how to handle these things as well." She hesitantly took the gun from me, sizing it up.

"It's heavy." Her expression turned as though she was scrutinizing the rifle and getting a complete feel of it.

"Well, this one's a long-distanced rifle and they tend to be heavier. You can practice with this first and we'll check out some others later-"

"No, it's fine. This feels… natural." I raised an eyebrow and she shrugged before I handed her a fresh magazine.

"Alright, you just push this into the opening and pull back the bolt."

"Like this?" She did it perfectly.

"Yup, you're a natural." I teased and she smiled.

"Flatterer…" She mumbled as she set the tripod down on the table and leveled the rifle. I considered giving her some advice but decided to let her give it a try before giving feedback later.

I never needed to.

I was completely taken aback by how she completely looked like she was in her element. I doubted she'd ever touched a gun before and even with the tripod, the way she held the rifle completely still as she took aim without so much as a wobble, I suddenly felt like maybe I wasn't the one who should be teaching. She pulled the trigger once, twice, thrice. She kept firing until the bullet was empty, all the while staying completely still and as far as I could tell, didn't blink once.

She let out a breath and I realized she'd been holding it in all this time. I pressed the button to make the target come closer to us, suddenly very curious as to how the 15 year old crimson haired girl had done. At first, I couldn't see anything on the paper but my jaw dropped when I realized why.

Every shot had gone through the bulls-eye.

"There's no way."

"It was easier than I thought it'd be, just like you said."

"Love, it's easy to hit the paper, not to shoot a rifle like it's a laser beam."

"Is that good or bad?" She raised her eyebrows at me and I rubbed my temple, laughing out loud.

"That's a good question, love, because you just made me eat your dust. I think you should hold on to that." I laughed and she looked away, trying to hide a smile. She didn't like showing her emotions but at that moment she was having trouble resisting the urge to gloat. I put my hand on her shoulder and gestured towards the training dummies.

"Come on, let's go see what the kids are doing."

**Kyoya**

I quietly watched everyone go around trying out different weapons while staying close to Kaede and Alice. It was kind of a relief to get away from Patrick but seeing Kaede again was sending the wrong impulses into my body again even though I'd already "released". A few of the others, namely the two little girls, David, Theo and Ginger, were trying to get her to show off her katana but she was mostly just embarrassed at the attention she was getting.

"She doesn't have to do it if she doesn't want to!" Alice protested in her friend's stead. I shyly moved up and supported her.

"I a-agree. You guys shouldn't force her to do something she doesn't want to." Kaede flashed me an embarrassed smile in gratitude and I blushed.

"It's not that Kaede doesn't want to do it… It's just, with so many people watching…"

"Pleeeeeaassee, Kaede-Nee San?" Yuki looked up at her with the most ridiculously persuasive puppy dog eyes I had ever seen. Kaede blushed and twiddled her fingers together before looking away and nodding.

"Yay!" Both the little girls jumped out and down in excitement as almost everyone, save for Wolf who was busy smashing a dummy apart with her bare hands, started coming closer to watch one of the smallest members of the group display her abilities.

"Ehhhh?!" Kaede's eyes widened as she saw everyone watching her. She looked around desperately, definitely not comfortable with the attention she was getting. Suddenly, Feli spoke up, taking the attention away.

"Okay, okay, let's not give the little airhead too much pressure. How about this, there are about 400 dummies in here so how about we have a little competition?"

"That sounds interesting." Phil said with a smirk, his hands resting on the hilts of both his swords. The atmosphere visibly changed and all the fighters of the group smiled. I guess it was human nature to want to show off.

"I'd say we're overdue for some fun, so how about whoever can take out the most dummies within 20 seconds wins."

"I want in." Every head turned to see the one person no one had expected.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in your stupid little games, I just want to smash shit." Wolf said in a low growl, keeping a neutral face. I heard a whisper from behind me.

"Liar. You were doing that before." I turned and saw David smirking.

Feli smiled slyly and nodded before turning back to the rest of us, her smile turning into an arrogant smirk.

"Alright then, I hope you losers are ready to get destroyed."

**Bleehh, I wanted to go back to zombie action this chapter but then this happened so it looks like that's not happening till at least 2 chapters later… Why do I suck at pacing… I swear, I can't write action orientated stories to save my life, my writing is so much more suited for slice of life haha Maybe I've been watching too much Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai **

**Anywho, this is a much shorter chapter than the last but my 8 week vacation is coming up soon so we'll see what we can do then ^.^ I intend to start my second fanfic around that time as well. Yaaawwn, its 1am here and I was in school for about 12 hours today x.x Ima head to bed now and I'll reply to reviews next chapter, most likely next week. Ja, matane, oyasumi, minna-san 3 Actually scratch that, I might as well do it now haha**

**To Ancientblue: I've honestly seen a lot of cases of similarly drastic situations in people's lives so not much surprises me anymore :) Oh come on, you know Kaede with a katana is awesome, don't even lie hehehe I'm honestly still trying to think of directions for Brandon, his sister and Mashona. Patrick is always occupied with eye candy haha nothing new there**

**To Shadowssj12: I absolutely LOVE Tokyo ghoul! I've cosplayed as both White Hair Kaneki and Touka, I've been thinking of doing Eto as well because, well, Eto is just goddess. I came up with that thing for Theo after reading some of the reviews and thinking that Theo made a really good big sister figure without being a leader. Very much like a caretaker, kinda like Ersha from Cross Ange :) And it doesn't matter what the situation is, there can never be enough yuri ;P**

**To Enarmonios: Well, if you've watched Akame Ga Kill, you know what character development means hehehehe I just kinda thought that Catherine would totally fit in with the two of them simply because of how much she DIDN'T fit haha That didn't make sense but it made sense when I thought about it :/**

**To 666Funtimes: Well to be fair, Feli probably didn't expect a hyper-active gay dude to be snooping around her house**

**To Awesome D.T: Shhhhh, if you don't tell him, I won't tell him. What he doesn't know won't hurt him right?**

**Again, shhhh, don't tell everyone about my mind reading powers! It'd ruin my plans to take over the world, dontcha know ;)**

**I think threesome is a beautiful word hehehe**

**Yuri is always adorable, regardless of who is involved hehehe**

**I don't suppose it'd be a good idea where Kaede gets infected by a unique strain of the virus and grows cat ears and a tail eh? I imagine Feli would be dragging her to the bedroom by the tail x.x**

**Oh god, believe it or not, I did not think anything sexual when I was writing Phil and Alice, I can't unsee that from my brain T.T**

**That drinking beer scene was actually something I saw happen, only it was my friend trying to impress a girl but ended up wasted on the floor after 3 shots haha**

**I'm thinking of putting Mike and Kyle in bulletproof plumber outfits **

**I can see the parallel between Feli x Kaede and Patrick x Kyoya haha The whole boob squeezing thing was something I saw in Trinity 7 and completely fell in love with haha**


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